


If The Broom Fits

by Turchinorain



Series: Twists of Time [5]
Category: Time Warp Trio (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Historical Fantasy, Salem Witch Trials
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24084439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turchinorain/pseuds/Turchinorain
Summary: Tired of being the only girl she knows with magic, Anna decides to take The Book and warp to 1600's Massachusetts in order to meet the girls at the heart of the Salem Witch Trials. But things are never as they seem. History never knew the real story behind the madness that took place that spring.  As Anna becomes more deeply embroiled in drama, tensions, and magic a little darker than what she's used to, will she make it out of Salem alive? Or will she be burned at the stake?
Series: Twists of Time [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/874200
Comments: 27
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Anna never believed in magic until Joe got The Book. Actually, that’s not true. According to her mom, when she was a  baby, she had been absolutely astounded by any of his magic tricks. But when she got older, she definitely outgrew it. Until Uncle Joe gave Joe  The Book for his tenth birthday. The first time Anna accidentally warped, it had been terrifying, and exciting, and  exhilarating all at once. After that, she stole The Book whenever she could, and fell in love with magic all over again. 

Sometimes, she even wonders what would have happened if she were the oldest. Would she have been the one to get The Book on her tenth birthday instead of Joe? Jodie had and she’s a great  warper . Better than Joe at least. Then again, Anna always sort of suspected that the women in her family are just better with magic than the men. They just don’t feel the need to show off as much. 

That was the difference between her and Joe. Before he took a break from magic, he was constantly showing off his sleight of hand and misdirection tricks. And yet, for some reason, he never took the time to study The Book. But she did. Whenever Anna had a chance to steal it, she read The Book and went on her own adventures. Piloting boats down the Nile, meeting royalty, arguing with despots. 

Okay, so maybe the last one wasn’t one of her smartest decisions, but still- she loved using The Book and worked really hard to be good with it. Even when Joe gave up magic and hid The Book, Anna still studied magic. She just knew that there had to be a reason why she seemed so naturally talented with The Book, and she begged her Uncle Joe to help her find out why. Turns out, there was something there. She always knew there was. It explains how she’s so gifted with The Book. She even managed to save her brother and his friends more than once. She was good at using The Book, loved magic, and even had something special inside of her that just needed some coaxing out. 

So why did everyone still underestimate her? 

* * *

_ Flowers. Beautiful, black flowers. They sparkle like the midnight sky. They’re so beautiful. They look like they might be  _ _ velvety _ _ and soft. But every time Anna tries to touch one, hold one in her hand, it bursts into soft purple mist. _

_ SLAM! _

“Fina wait! I’m sorry! I wasn’t making fun of you, I swear.”

Anna is jolted out of her dream by the sounds from down the hall. Fina’s reply is muffled, but it sounds apologetic. Anna groans and looks at the clock and groans again. Really? They were at it this early in the morning? She rolls onto her back and throws an arm over her eyes, hoping to fall asleep again. She wants to keep dreaming about those flowers. Some time had passed since the Time Traveler’s Convention, but she hadn’t forgotten. There was no way she could ever forget what happened. A mysterious flower had given her visions of Gremlins attacking innocent people. Most people would have just dismissed it as a bad dream, but she had taken it seriously. She knew that she had been seeing visions of the future, even though nothing like that had ever happened before. Still, she had followed her instincts and been proven right. But no matter how hard she  tried; she was never able to have another clear vision like that. Even Uncle Joe hadn’t- 

“I’m sorry,” Joe’s voice comes again, “I wasn’t trying to insult you or make fun of you. I’ve just never seen you with your hair out before. I think it’s cute...”

Anna groans again as she tunes her brother’s voice out. So much for going back to sleep. She doesn’t know why her brother doesn’t just ask Fina out already. It was  soooo obvious he has a total crush on her. And how could he not? Fina was always  soooo nice to him. Anna rolls her eyes. Guys always fell for the  _ nice _ girl. The overly  _ friendly  _ girl. Not that she had anything against Fina, it’s just the soft smiles and sweetness thing became a little one-note after a while. No one was that nice all the time.

“Ugh, listen to me, I’m thinking like  Yasmine Bishop,” Anna tosses back her blankets and gets out of bed. “That’s the last person I want to think like.”

It’s way too early for her to get ready for school, so she tries to meditate instead. Tap into her magic like Uncle Joe tried teaching her. She folds her legs, lotus position, folds her hands, fingers laced, and focuses. Mediation helps her tap into her  _ intrinsecus  _ _ maicus _ _ ,  _ the magic buried inside of her. Once she taps into it, there’s no telling what she’ll be able to do with it. See the future, alter time- fly!?

There was only one problem- Anna can’t get her mind to focus. Too much is running through it. She focuses just long enough to feel a warm tingling in her palms, but then something pops into her head. Did she finish her homework? History, yes (easy as always), but her reading for English was too annoying to bother. Wait, no, she’s supposed to be calling on her magic. But did she remember to sneak that CD she “borrowed” from Joe? He probably didn’t notice anyway. Argh! No! She’s supposed to be focusing! 

But wouldn’t it be hilarious if she ended up more powerful than Joe? She’d be gracious about it though. She’s even let him tag along on  _ her  _ adventures. Anna giggles at the thought, but opens her eyes with a sigh. So much for meditating. She just can’t get her mind together long enough. 

The smell of bacon wafts up to her room and Anna’s stomach growls. A nice breakfast might help her focus. 

Without bothering to change out of her PJs (after all, it’s her house), she heads downstairs. Or at least she starts to. She slows down near the bottom of the steps and peeks around the corner. Joe and Fina already beat her to the kitchen, and she’s too curious not to observe them. 

Fina is doing her usual thing of making breakfast for all three of them. Something must be bothering her because there’s a faint line between her eyes. Joe, though, seems to be completely oblivious because he’s staring at her with an almost love-sick expression on his face. Anna rolls her eyes. Typical male drooling after domestic girl next door imagery. He should just ask her out already and get it over with. 

“Wow,” Joe gushes as he sits down, “You’re fast.”

“I try to be as efficient as I can,” Fina responds with a smile, the line between her eyes gone.

Anna decides to interrupt their gush-fest before it gets gross, “Well you guys sure aren’t efficient at being quiet in the morning.”

They both jump and she has to hide a smile. They’re so busy focusing on each other that of  course they didn’t notice  her, “ I mean, come on guys, I could hear Joe groveling all the way in my room. If you two have to fight, can you do it on the bus or something? I am right down the hall remember?”

“We weren’t fighting.” Joe and Fina answer at the same time. 

Their eyes meet and they look away awkwardly. Cute and barf.

“Mmhm, sure. Right. So, what were you two not fighting about?”

“How much salt Fina should put in your eggs. She only wanted to put a cup, I thought you needed two.” Joe’s such a bad lair that he doesn’t even try anymore. He just tries to turn the conversation into a joke. 

Anna sticks her tongue out at him, but Fina doesn’t even crack a smile. Joe sinks in his seat and pushes his eggs around on his plate. Fina seems distant as she places a plate in front of Anna who purposely catches Joe’s eye and takes a large bite of eggs. 

“So,” she says after she swallows. Time to turn on the little sister charm, “I was wondering since you know, we’re both being responsible and studying magic, that the next time you warp with The Book, maybe I could go with you.”

“No.” Joe and Fina answer at the same time. Joe laughs awkwardly but Fina just looks away. 

Anna’s jaw drops, “Really? Are you both serious? Fina- I used to warp by myself all the time. Joe- you know I can time travel.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“For both of you,” Fina gives Joe a pointed look before leaving the table.

Joe rolls his eyes behind her back but gives Anna a look, “Don’t even think about snooping in my room. The Book’s not even in there.”

They both leave for school, leaving Anna at the table alone. Nothing new there. Anna grumpily finishes the rest of her breakfast. When they were kids, Joe always used to leave her behind. Warps, Ray’s, the arcade, the movies. It was a boy thing and an older brother thing. Things had changed a little since the “incident”, but not much. Joe was so paranoid that he used to walk her home from school. She even got the occasional invite to the movies or Ray’s Pizza. But he still wouldn’t let her use The Book. He probably doesn’t even know she was studying magic. Even after she saved his life at the convention center!

“I need to find my own time travel friends,” She grumbles getting up from the table, “Maybe I’ll ask Uncle Joe to ask Jodie to put an ad out for me in the Daily Warper.”

The thought lightens her mood a lot. She likes it more and more as she gets dressed and ready for school. That’s what she really needs- her own time travel trio. All girls of course. Girls like her who loved excitement, adventure, and history. It would be amazing. And she would finally have friends she could really talk to. 

The trip to school is uneventful as usual. Anna waves to the familiar faces around her and most of them wave back. She may not have a ton of friends, but she’s not exactly unknown in her school. That was sort of her problem. She’s a bit... infamous. There was the Cupcake Fire in second grade, the Teddy Bear Explosion in fourth grade, and for some reason, no one would forget the Sleep Over Incident in fifth grade.

“The problem is that no one in this school has any sense of excitement,” Anna mumbles as she kneels down and opens her locker. “I don’t understand how anyone lives like that.”

Even before Anna used The Book for the first time, she always had this store of pent up energy and creativity begging to be unleashed. There just weren’t that many opportunities to unleash it. For all her energy, Anna isn’t exactly into organized sports, and cheerleading was a definite no. Outside of that, most girls her age wasted their time painting  each other's nails and giggling about boys. And that’s something Anna  _ definitely  _ doesn’t have time for. 

But then a familiar laugh bounces down the hall, and her spine goes rigid.  _ Don’t look up. Don’t look up. Don’t look- _

Anna does look up though and sees  _ him _ .  Noah Roberts. Fair skin with a dusting of freckles across his nose. Curly, light auburn hair that falls over his warm green eyes. He’s not tall, but his muscles are wiry and strong. Captain of the soccer team, honor roll student, and hands down, the most popular guy in her grade. 

All the things that Anna hates on principal. Stereotypical, predictable, and really shallow popular guys got under her skin on sight. They were the reason why girls acted so dumb, vapid, and  back-stabby .

So why did the sound of  Noah ’s laugh make Anna’s heart beat faster?

He walks down the hall with his soccer friends with an air of complete comfort and ease. They’re all laughing about something but  Noah ’s laugh rings loud and clear above the rest. He swipes at his curls with the back of one hand but they just bounce back in place. One of his front teeth is just slightly crooked, but the effect is downright adorable and endearing. 

“Quit staring at him, freak.”

Anna jerks her attention away and her brow furrows as she frowns at the speaker, “I wasn’t staring at him, Yasmine. I was...looking somewhere else.”

“Uh-huh, sure you weren’t,” Yasmine gives her a nasty smirk before turning to her friends and fake whispering, “She’s such a terrible liar.”

Yasmine’s minions giggle and Anna rolls her eyes. She hates that her locker is the bottom locker because it gives Yasmine an excuse to stand over her since she has a top locker. It’s sheer bad luck that their lockers are only a few apart. Anna’s mouth tightens as she tries not to say anything in retort to her last comment. Her mouth has a tendency to run ahead of her and get her into trouble. She can’t help it though. She’s one of the few girls brave enough to stand up to Yasmine Bishop. 

Yasmine Bishop was probably just as popular as  Noah Roberts. She was conventionally pretty with flawless light brown skin and wavy short dark hair that was streaked with a different color every month. She had a nose stud since last year and always wore dark eye make-up making her look edgy. 

But Anna had known her when she was overweight, pimply, and into dark poetry back in the fifth grade. They had been pretty good friends, almost best friends, as the two weird girls that were into Edgar Allan Poe and urban legends. Then Yasmine decided that she’d rather be popular than unique. Or maybe she thought she was still being unique and wanted to be popular at the same time. In any case, she dumped Anna on her way to being popular. She lost weight, starting wearing makeup, and wore the same skimpy, trendy clothes as everyone else, but just in darker shades. At the same, she seemed to blame Anna for not following along and the two became enemies. 

“You know, Anna,” Yasmine starts in a condescending tone, “People might hate less if you didn’t act like you were better than everyone else.”

“No one hates me,” Anna immediately shoots back, “And I don’t act like I’m better than everyone else. I’m just not scared to be an individual. Unlike some people.” 

She mutters the last part under her breath but Yasmine narrows her eyes. Anna almost doesn’t pull her fingers back in time before Yasmine kicks her locker shut with a bang.

“Hey!” Anna jumps up angrily, “You did that on purpose.”

“No, I didn’t,” Yasmine bats her heavily mascaraed eyes, “It was an accident.”

“Oh yeah? Then apologize.” 

Anna smirks as Yasmine’s eyes narrow. She got her! Anna knows that the last thing Yasmine would want to do is apologize to Anna in public, but if slamming her locker shut really was an accident, she shouldn’t have a problem with apologizing. So, either Yasmine admits to slamming Anna’s locker shut, giving her a reason to tell a teacher (not that she would), or she has to lower herself and apologize to Anna. 

“Uh-oh, is this a catfight? Somebody get out the cameras.”

The interruption comes from one of the more annoying guys from the soccer team (Trevor? Trent? Anna can’t remember). The guys, including  Noah , are at their lockers across the hallway, most of them not paying attention to what’s going on. But  Noah playfully shoves the annoying interrupter and laughs. 

“Your so hyper today, dude,”  Noah laughs. 

His eyes then move over to Anna and she feels her heart stop. She wills it (forces it) to start beating again and bends back down to finish at her locker. It’s not like he’s smiling her anyway. 

“Hey,  Noah ,” Yasmine’s voice is suddenly an octave higher, “The game last Saturday was totally amazing. You were killer.”

“And yet they still lost,” Anna mumbles and clamps her mouth shut. She didn’t mean to say that  out loud , it just came out. 

Yasmine throws her a dirty look and her foot twitches as if she wants to kick her locker shut again. But  Noah only laughs. 

“I know, I totally screwed up that last goal. I wanted to die,” He smiles at her again, “I didn’t know you went to our game. I don’t think I saw you.”

“I don’t. I mean, I didn’t,” Anna shifts uncomfortably under his gaze but forces herself to stand still and looks him in the face, “I read it in the school newspaper. I think I’m the only one who still reads it.”

“Aren’t you special?” Yasmine gripes beside her.

But  Noah laughs and brushes his hair out of his eyes again, “Yeah, I’m not much of a reader.”

_ What a surprise,  _ Anna thinks but manages to keep her mouth shut this time. 

The bell rings for class and Anna moves quickly to get away from them. No doubt Yasmine is lingering, probably sidling up to  Noah and batting her fake eyelashes. Anna gives an impatient snort. Girls can act so dumb around cute boys. Not that she thinks  Noah is that cute or anything. 

But she has other and more important things to think about. Her mind goes back to the flowers. Why, out of everyone, had she gotten the flower? Even her brother, the next Warp Wizard, hadn’t known what was going to happen. So why her? She needs to find out more. She has to. How can she not?

Whatever she decides to do though will have to wait until after school. Anna follows the flood of students into her first class of the day, English. She claims her usual seat near the back by the window and watches as the teacher sets up the tv in the front of the room. Usually, she didn’t mind English. It was a little boring, but  manageable . Especially if she doesn’t make eye contact with Yasmine who unfortunately shares the same class. For the past few weeks though, the class had been reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller based on the Salem Witch Trials. 

It was frustrating. And infuriating. To have magic be completely dismissed like that. The play basically calls women hysterical, dramatic, and prone to make up stuff. Anna knows that the play has some deeper symbolism, or whatever, and historically there was no real credence to prove that witches really exist. But there wasn’t exactly proof that a magic, time travelling book exists either. 

To make it worse, the teacher was also pairing readings from The Crucible play to the movie based on it. Anna shifts impatiently and distractedly in her seat while the classroom goes dark and the movie starts playing. She doesn’t bother taking notes. The movie is worse than the play. She usually loves Winona Ryder, but seeing her be this vindictive, jealous, scorned lover is painful. The other characters aren’t that much better. Even the two people you’re supposed to root for, the innocent husband and wife, are kind of lame too. 

Everyone in the movie acts so stupidly. Since the director already took more than a few artistic liberties with the material, why couldn’t he have written smarter characters? On that note, why couldn’t the he have been a she?

Near the last twenty minutes of class, the teacher paused the movie and turned the lights back on. 

“Okay?” He yawns, “Let’s open up the floor to discussion. Anyone have any comments or  criticism as to the adaption?”

“I have a  criticism ,” Anna bursts out without raising her hand. 

There’s more than one groan scattered around the classroom and even the teacher tries to disguise a grimace. 

“Yes, Anna?”

“Why does the screenwriter have to portray the Salem witch girls as crazy, neurotic drama queens?” Anna rolls her eyes impatiently, “That is when they’re not bullying each other.”

“Do you mean in the movie or in the play?”

“Both. And probably in history too. I mean, in every movie, book, and tv show I’ve seen, these poor Salem girls show a little bit of power and everyone gets terrified.”

“Um, isn’t it the 1600s or something?” A boy in her class points out timidly, “Puritans are pretty much scared of everything, aren’t they? And, honestly, girls drinking blood would scare me too. Unless they were hot vampire chicks.”

“That’s such a vicious stereotype!” Anna snaps, “The Salem girls probably did not drink blood, or dance naked in the moonlight, or any of that crap! Men are just so scared of women having a little power that they rather brand them as demon worshippers and throw them in jail. Or portray them in movies and tv as  cliché mean girls.”

Her teacher sighs and holds up his hands, “Ok, I think we’re getting off-topic here-”

“Are you serious!?” Yasmine makes a noise of aggravation and glares at Anna, “Will you listen to yourself instead of yelling at everyone all the time? Salem Girls? You make them sound like a lame girl group. The Crucible was just an allegory for McCarthyism and prejudice. Witches and witchcraft aren’t real! None of this is real!”

“The Salem Witch Trials were real!” Anna shouts back. “It was poorly recorded and the events of which were probably warped by  misogynist males.”

“Ugh! I am so tired of your uber-feminism and crazy, cat-lady rantings. The Crucible wasn’t real and the Salem Witch Trials were just a case of mass hysteria!”

“How do you know that? How to any of us know that!”

The teacher gives a sudden loud clap, drawing everyone’s attention, “Girls! Enough! Anna, let’s just stick to comments about the movie or play as a work of fiction, please. Now, does anyone else have any  _ relevant  _ comments?”

“He means not psycho comments,” Yasmine hisses to Anna. 

The students immediately seated around them snicker and Anna feels her face flame. The bell rings though before she can say anything. Times like this she hates the fact that she can’t tell anyone about The Book or the adventures she’s been on. It stinks even worse that she doesn’t know anyone else who knows magic. She bets they’re nothing like the girls in The Crucible. They were probably just like her. Girls who were different, had  extraordinary gifts, but couldn’t open up to anyone about it. 

Halfway to her next class, Anna stops with a gasp. The Book! The Salem Witch Trials were a part of history after all. She can use The Book, warp to Salem, and find the girls accused of witchcraft. Why didn’t she think about  it earlier?

“Oh right,” She mumbles and starts moving again as she’s jostled by the crowd in the hallway, “Joe hid The Book.”

But did that  _ really  _ matter? Joe was terrible at hiding The Book. She just didn’t try that hard to look for it because for once she wanted to respect his space. However, since he still wants to keep it from her and probably isn’t using it himself, what’s the harm in her taking it for a little joy ride?

* * *

The end of school can’t come fast enough. Anna knows that Joe and Fina get out of school before her, so she doesn’t have a chance to get home before them. Neither of them pays much attention to her anyway, so snooping under their noses shouldn’t be too hard. She’s not even that hurt that Joe stopped walking her home after school. 

“Hey!” Anna calls out as she walks in, “I’m home!” 

Surprisingly , there isn’t any answer and the house  feels empty. Perfect. Anna smiles as she rushes upstairs to Joe’s room. He told her that The Book wasn’t in there so she shouldn’t bother looking, but isn’t that exactly what you would say if that’s exactly where you hid it? But as Anna looks under the bed, in the closet, and even in that hidden drawer in his desk he doesn’t know that she knows about, she still hasn’t found it. 

“Hmm,” Anna hums, brushing the lint out of her hair. “Where did you hide it, Joe?”

She considers checking Fina’s room next, but she hears the front door open and bolts out of Joe’s room before she gets caught snooping. She hides in her room and listens as they come up the stairs. 

“Are they just getting home? Wonder what they’re up to?”

Does she even want to know? It gets even weirder as she hears her parents’ shower, and the bathroom shower starts running. Anna’s frowns and  creeps downstairs as a sudden hunch comes to her. Sitting on the kitchen table are Joe and Fina’s backpacks. Anna quietly walks towards Joe’s and opens it.

“Bingo,” She grins.

Predictable as always, it turns out Joe had taken The Book with him to school. Anna hugs The Book to her like an old friend and feels that familiar tingle of magic coursing through her. But she still isn’t in the clear. Before the showers stop running, she hurries upstairs to her room and closes the door.

“Finally,” She breathes with a grin. She feels happier than she’s felt in a long, long time. 

As if reading her mind, as soon as she opens it, The Book turns to the exact page she wants. The green mist that comes out is as warm as a bath and she warps smoothly away. 


	2. Chapter 2

When the world stops spinning, Anna finds herself in a dreary wooded area under a cloudy gray sky. She shivers and hugs herself for warmth. Brown leaves crunch underfoot as she shifts her weight from one foot to another trying to get her bearings. Warping always left her a little light-headed and disoriented. 

“Oh wait!” She jumps when she realizes her arms are empty, “Where’s-” 

She spots The Book only a few feet away from her and hurries to pick it up, breathing a sigh of relief. She never lost The Book during a warp, and she isn’t planning to now. She runs her hand over the cover fondly. The silver stars and moons catch the light and seem to glow softly. A light tingle runs up her arms. 

“Okay, Book, show me a map of Salem.” 

The Book doesn’t seem to react at first, but when Anna opens it, there’s a two-page map of Salem, Massachusetts, and the surrounding wooded area. A little star indicates that she’s right outside of some houses. Perfect. Especially since it’s pretty cold outside. Brooklyn had been a breezy sixty-three. It has to be forty here at least. Anna starts walking in the direction of the town, feeling excited, hopeful, and nervous all at the same time. She isn’t stupid. She knows what she’s doing is risky. The Salem Witch Trials wasn’t exactly the nicest time to be in Massachusetts. But the risk is definitely worth meeting some actual like-minded girls. Maybe they can teach her how to access her magic too. And maybe she can help them hide their magic better. Prevent the Salem Witch Trials from even happening maybe. 

Anna smiles the more she thinks about it. Yeah, who says that the Salem Witch Trials even have to really happen? It’s not like it improved anything in history. The Book sends a sudden, sharp jolt into her hand like static electricity. 

“Hey! Stop that! It’s not that big of a deal!” 

The Book always seemed to have a mind of its own. Once, during a warp in Scotland, someone had said that it had been written by fairies or with fairy ink or something. Anna doesn’t know how true that is, but she knows if you treat The Book right, it’ll be docile. 

When she finally steps out of the woods though, her smile falls a little. Salem isn’t what she imagined it’d be. The quaint little Puritan village she imagined was more like a ghost town. The ground is hard and frozen with spots of icy mud in the dirt road. Bare trees reach toward the gray sky like vengeful claws. The few people walking around look gaunt and weary. 

Suddenly, Anna is hit with an almost overwhelming desire to go home. It’s like a punch in the gut that leaves her stomach churning. It would be so easy for her to just open The Book, go home, and pretend that she never thought of Salem. 

“Don’t be silly,” Anna shakes her head to clear the thought, “You’re just nervous because you haven’t warped in a while. It’ll be fine. And if things get bad, I can just warp home. I have The Book.” 

Saying it out loud helps calm her nerves and the feeling goes away. She doesn’t know where that came from but it’s over now. Time to explore. Not that there was much to explore. The town itself is kind of boring. No one really seems to notice her walking around. There aren’t that many kids out either. She wonders if she’ll recognize the Salem girls on sight. Like some sort of magic psychic connection or something. She giggles a little under her breath. She knows she’s being silly, but it’s still fun to think about. 

A ball gets her attention as it rolls over and bumps against her leg. She picks it up and looks around for its owner. A little kid, probably only three or four, starts to run toward her but stops with an uncertain look on his face. 

“Here you go,” Anna smiles and rolls the ball back. 

The little kid grins, the first smile she’s seen since she got here, and kicks the ball back to her. 

“You wanna play? We can play.” 

She kicks the ball back to him, gently so it rolls slow, and he kicks it back as hard as he can. They kick the ball back and forth for a while until the little boy slips on a patch of ice. It’s not a bad fall, but as soon as he sits up his lower lip trembles and he starts crying. 

“Thomas? Thomas, where are ye, child?” 

An elderly woman with graying brown hair and bright blue eyes comes out of one of the houses. The little boy runs into her arms still sobbing. The woman rubs his back and glances up at Anna curiously. 

“Um, hi,” she waves feeling a little shy, “We were playing and he slipped and fell.” 

The boy sobs and points to his knee. The woman makes a shushing noise and hugs him to her. Almost immediately his crying stops and he snuggles into her happily. Anna starts to move away but the woman calls out to her. 

“Excuse me, fair stranger, but who are ye?” She asks with a kind look on her face, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around before.” 

“I’m Anna. I’m just passing through.” 

“Oh? Do you have family here in Salem?” 

“Eh, no it’s just me.” 

“Oh you poor motherless dear,” The woman’s expression turns to pity, “You have no family? No wonder why you’re wandering the streets in nothing better than rags.” 

Anna frowns and looks down at herself. She’s wearing her usual clothes- cargo pants, layered tee, and her favorite denim jacket with the dragonfly on the back. But then again, the woman is wearing a long, stuffy-looking dark dress, white apron, and a white coif. Compared to her, maybe Anna might as well be wearing rags. 

The woman smiles and holds out her hand, “Come. You shall have a home with me, sweet child. I’m Rebecca Nurse.” 

"Nice to meet you.” 

Anna shakes her hand politely and follows her back to her house. As it turns out Rebecca Nurse’s husband had once been the constable of Salem and they were still active members in the community. Her husband was helping to settle a dispute while she and her grandson were bringing fresh fruit to the sick. While they walked back to her buggy, Rebecca leans on Anna for support and peppers her with questions about herself. Anna thinks quickly and answers each question as evasively as she can without outright lying to her. Usually, Anna would have no problem telling a few little white lies to cover her tracks, but there’s something about her frail, wrinkly, kind face that makes Anna reluctant to lie. As far as Rebecca Nurse is concerned though, she’s traveling on her own, just passing through to see her older brother. Which is sort of true. She is just passing through Salem (until she finds girls like her) and when she’s done, she’ll definitely see Joe (if only to brag). 

They meet Rebecca’s husband Francis, just as kind and as ancient as his wife, at their buggy and they head back to their family’s farmhouse. It’s a beautiful country house in a lot of ways, but unfortunately, the area around it is all gray skies and frozen mud. But there’s a couple of kids running around in the front yard watched by a few adults with a dog lounging around so it can’t be that bad. Anna’s smile falters a little as they pull up and dozens of eyes size her up. 

“Family, this is Anna,” Rebecca lightly touches her shoulder, “She’s a sweet child who needs a place to stay and it is our duty as good, Christian people to provide her a home, just as our Lord Jesus Christ instructed us to.” 

The eyes of her family soften and she’s even helped out of the buggy and welcomed into their home. Anna never met nicer people. Rebecca Nurse gives her a skirt and apron to wear over her pants and a bonnet to cover her hair “more modestly” as Rebecca puts it. Anna doesn’t mind. It will help her to blend in better and keeps her pretty warm. She’s even given a bed to sleep in, sharing the room with some of Rebecca’s granddaughters. 

“This is really generous of you,” Anna says gratefully, “Thanks. Is there anything I can do for you?” 

“I do this not to garner favors, dear child. I do this for love of all God’s children.” 

“But maybe I can help you run errands in town or something.” 

Rebecca Nurse gives her a warm smile and pats her cheek, “Bless you, sweet dear. Of course, you can accompany me into town tomorrow. Now, it’ll just be a few moments until supper is ready. I’ll leave you to settle in.” 

She leaves the room and gently closes the door behind her. Anna breathes a sigh of relief and sits on the bed. So far so good. For a minute, she was afraid she had gotten rusty warping. But less than two hours in Salem she had already found a place to stay, some clothes to blend in with, and met a really nice lady. If she had been Joe, well, there’s no telling. Anna smiles and pats The Book gratefully. Step one complete, she’s safely in Salem. Tomorrow, step two- make friends with actual, totally cool, witches. Easy. 

* * *

The next morning Anna is up with the sunrise. After a few short moments of confusion, she gets excited when she remembers when and where she is. Today is the day she is going to find them. Betty Paris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam. The three girls who, in her opinion, accidentally revealed their powers, got accused of being witches (like that was such a big deal), and kicked off one of the biggest witch hunts in America (literally). But Anna is optimistic. When she finds them, she can convince them to hide their magic a little better, and maybe by the time she gets back home, the decidedly less Puritan culture might be a little more accepting of magic. That would be cool. 

After breakfast, and morning prayers she may or may not have dozed off during, she heads into town with Rebecca and her husband. It’s a few degrees warmer outside so there are a couple more people out, but still not many. In town, Mr. Nurse goes one way while they go another. Anna holds Rebecca’s basket of baked goods she helped make to take to some friends. Even if Anna hadn’t already been on a mission to make new witch friends, she would have been content to hang out with Rebecca for a few days. There’s just something so comforting about being around her. She’s like the grandmothers you see in those commercials where they lovingly bake cookies for their grandkids or knit or whatever. 

But as they head to the next home to deliver a loaf of banana bread, Anna spots three girls around her age whispering together and her pulse beats a little faster in excitement. They’re the first girls she’s seen even close to her age since she got here. And the way they were huddled together definitely looks like they are discussing something secret. Maybe a meeting in the woods to do magic type of secret? 

“Um, Rebecca?” Anna hesitates before they go inside the next house, “Do you mind if I stay out here this time? Just to enjoy a little more fresh air?” 

“Are you feeling well, dear?” 

“Yes ma’am. I just... want a little fresh air.” 

“Well, be careful not to get lost. I’m making pumpkin and dried deer stew for supper.” 

“Great. I can’t wait.” 

Anna keeps the innocent smile on her face until Rebecca goes inside with her basket of baked goods. She then lets her face relax and looks over at the girls again. There are three of them, one looks a little younger than her, but not by much. They’re sitting on the front steps of a building two buildings away. Anna knows from eavesdropping on Joe and his friends that she can’t just walk up to them. So instead she sneaks around the back of the smaller building between them, and sneaks through the alley on the other side, next to the steps where the girls are sitting. She slows her steps and becomes perfectly still in the cold shade and listens. 

“It has to be tonight,” the youngest girl whispers, “Papa is meeting the new magistrate tomorrow so he’ll be in bed early tonight. I’ll be able to sneak out then.” 

“Why not wait until tomorrow?” The oldest of them asks, “When he’s not around at all?” 

The two other girls exchange a look and the middle one shakes her head, “I agree with Betty. ‘Tis best we meet tonight in the woods. Past the general store and under the large oak west. My uncle the Reverend is bound to leave eyes behind in his absence. And the moon is better tonight. I can feel it.” 

Anna feels a chill go down her spine at the last comment. They’re talking about doing magic in the moonlight. A literal magic hour! Could this get any better? 

“Abigail, your fancies are so fantastic,” the other girl giggles, “How would you know about the moon when we’ve only been practicing our craft for a few days?” 

“Oh Ann, must you be so irksome?” Abigail rolls her eyes but doesn’t look angry. 

“Who’s telling Elizabeth about our meeting?” 

“’ Twas she who decided. And _she_ probably already knows of our plans.” 

There’s a pause in their conversation and the three of them shift uncomfortably. Anna can see a strange, almost haunted look in their expressions. And she just now seems to notices a few lines between and under their eyes. Aren’t they too old for wrinkles? 

“Do you think she can really see inside of our hearts and minds?” The youngest one, Betty asks, her voice dropping even lower than before. 

“Don’t be such a ninny,” Ann hisses, “You speak like a scared kitten. Besides, ‘twouldn’t matter if she could. We are all of one coven now.” 

Anna claps a hand over her mouth to hold back a squeal. Coven! She actually said coven! A sisterhood, a sorority of magic-wielding, evil-fighting, friends for life, witches. It takes all that she can to not jump out and beg to join. No, she has to be smart about this. She can’t scare them off. Tonight, she’ll just happen to come across them in the wood, join their coven, help them keep their secret, and prevent the Salem Witch Trials. Easy-peasy. And when she gets home, she might actually be able to find girls to fit in with and finally have some real friends she can be herself with. 

The point is that she’s heard enough and her mind is made up. She quietly goes back the way she came so she can meet back up with Rebecca before she realizes she’s missing. 

* * *

Late that night, Anna sneaks out of the bedroom she shares with Rebecca’s granddaughters. A thrill of excitement goes through her as she carefully climbs out of bed. She never stuck out before. Once, she had covered for Joe when he and his friends snuck out to go to a late movie premiere, but he had gotten caught anyway because he brought home a t-shirt. The initial thrill wears off a little though once she makes it outside. It just isn’t as exciting/dangerous as she thought it’d be. 

The cold, night air closes around her and temporarily takes her breath away. Anna blows out a cloud of her icy breath and pulls her coif down over her ears. She then pulls The Book out from under her arm, and opens it to the map of Salem. 

“Ok Book,” she whispers, “show me where Betty, Abagail, and Ann are.” 

More than a dozen dots appear on the map representing everyone named Betty, Abagail, or Ann in town. But there are three dots in particular close to each other in the woods. She puts a finger on the page. 

“Take me there.” 

The green mist flows out softly, almost translucent in the moonlight. And because she was only warping through space and not time, she barely feels the warp. There’s only a slight shifting under her feet and the world around her ripples a little. Anna closes her eyes to stave off the seasick feeling and when she opens them again, she’s in the woods. It’s noticeably darker under the trees but a faint orange glow catches her eye. She follows it until she comes to close to a clearing when she can see it’s a bonfire with three figures around it. They’re a bit shadowy, but by the light of the fire, she can tell it’s them. 

Anna’s heart sinks a little. Does this mean that the old stereotype of witches doing crazy dances around bonfires is true after all? 

“Can’t we stoke the fire more?” Betty whines pulling her cloak tighter around herself, “I’m freezing.” 

“We can’t, someone could see it,” Ann answers, “Just move closer to it.” 

“I dare not. I fear catching flame on my new cloak. Mama sewed it herself.” 

Anna breathes a sigh of relief. They weren’t being weird around the fire. They were just cold. 

“I shan't wait for Elizabeth any longer. I want to show you all a new trick I made up,” Abagail declares excitedly. 

Anna holds her breath. Abagail closes her eyes and mouths a few silent words to herself. At first, nothing seems to happen but then slowly, Abagail begins to rise. Her feet leave the ground and hover a clear six inches off the ground. 

“Mercy!” Ann and Betty share mutual looks of shock and awe. 

“Isn’t it... wonderful?” Abagail grins even as she struggles to maintain her balance. She talks a few more unsteady steps on the air. 

“I wish to try!” 

“Show me!” 

Anna can’t hear what she tells them but soon all three girls are walking on air together. It looks like they’re walking inside of a bouncy house. Sometimes their skirts move as if by their own personal breeze. Abagail bumps into Betty which starts a round of floating, teetering tag. Every time one of them seems like they’re about to fall, one of the others props them up again. From a distance, it does sort of look like they’re doing this weird dance-tag hybrid. 

Anna bites her lip, her stomach filled with butterflies. She doesn’t think she’s been this nervous in a while. Friends came and went with her pretty frequently, and usually, it wasn’t that big of a deal to her. You move on and find something else to do with your time. But now, seeing Ann, Betty, and Abagail playing tag and floating and laughing like this; it makes her feel like maybe she had been missing out on something really cool. So even though she’s nervous, even though it might make her look like a dork at best, or a stalker at worst, Anna steps out of her hiding place to try and make some new friends. 

No one notices her at first, and a moment later, Anna sees why. As they bounce and levitate on the air, Ann, Betty, and Abagail’s eyes are rolled to the back of their heads. Nothing but the whites are showing. 

Anna represses a shudder. Sure, the effect is... creepy, but who is she to judge? Maybe that’s just how their magic works. Still, that punched in the gut feeling hits her again and this time, little voice in her head whispers for her to go home. Run and don’t look back. Get out. _Get out._

Anna shakes her head defiantly. She doesn’t even know where these thoughts are coming from. It takes a lot more than some creepy eye-rolling to scare her away. So she takes another step and clears her throat loudly. 

All at once, the three of them fall crashing to the ground and their eyes return to normal. And those eyes stare at Anna with mixed looks of surprise, fear, and alarm. Now that she’s finally seeing them face to face (not stealthily observing them from a distance), Anna’s struck with how much they seem like normal girls. 

Betty Parris the youngest, and is small like her, with large brown eyes and a small mouth. A couple of freckles dot her nose. Ann is tall and slight with a full face and curly, frizzy hair peeking out from under her coif. Abagail is the one who catches her off guard the most though. In the movie they were watching in English class, she was a sulky, manipulative, jilted lover played by Wynona Ryder. But in person, she could go to Anna’s school. She shares the same eyes as Betty and holds her younger cousin’s hand protectively. Her mouth is set in a frown and she looks at Anna suspiciously. 

“Who are you?” She asks in a voice that only trembles a little. “How did you find us?” 

“It’s okay, I’m a friend. At least, I want to be your friend,” Anna does her best to give them a friendly, disarming smile. 

But Ann narrows her eyes and the others start backing away, “Thou art no friend of ours, stranger.” 

“We could be though. I’m just like you. Look.” 

Before they have a chance to run away, Anna pulls out The Book. They give her and it a blank look which isn’t surprising. The Book has to be the most unassuming, yet powerful object in the entire universe. The cover is really pretty up close, but from a distance, it looks like an ordinary book. And for something that contains and controls the entire space-time continuum, it’s pretty slim. 

But when Anna opens it, she can almost feel the magic within its pages. She may not be as Jodie at using it, but she does know a few tricks. Anything big would get her into major trouble, but she does know a few small things that will blow anyone’s mind. She picks up a rock and tosses it in a random direction. Betty, Abagail, and Ann watch it sail through the air and land without much expression. Perfect. 

“Watch this,” Anna opens The Book and finds the _local spatial warp_ spell. She lifts one hand and aims at the rock. “Transport-o object-o five-feet-o!” 

A miniature version of the swirling green mist appears over the rock and sucks it up into its vortex. Another swirl appears five feet away and deposits the rock before both green spirals of green mist disappear. 

“Mercy!” 

“Lord!” 

“Incredible!” 

The girls exchange one look of shock and then break into wide grins. In the next instant, they rush over to Anna and start plying her with questions. Where did she come from? Who taught her magic? What was with her strange clothes? Could everyone back home do the same thing? Anna tries to answer all of their questions the best she can without giving too much away. She gives pretty much the same answers she already gave to Rebecca Nurse, but with a few changes. 

“I came here because I... know about you guys, And I wanted to meet you. Where I’m from, there aren’t a lot of girls my age who can do what you can do.” 

“You know about us?” Ann looks alarmed again, “Who else knows? Please, you can’t tell anyone what you know. T’id cause us great peril.” 

“Of course, I’d never tell anyone,” Anna shakes her head, “And you shouldn’t either.” 

“But how did you know about us?” Betty blinks up at her earnestly, “Did you see us in your Venus glass?” 

“My what?” 

“Tis such fun,” Abagail laughs, “We use it to seek our future husbands.” 

“Abagail wishes to wed Samuel Wright,” Betty giggles. 

“Betty hush!” 

They both collapse into a fit of giggles. Anna resists the urge to roll her eyes but smiles nonetheless. They really are like the girls in her school. Except instead of folded paper fortune teller they used whatever a Venus glass was to tell their future. But it doesn’t matter. They’re already talking to her like they’re friends, and she bets that a Venus glass is way cooler than some dumb folded piece of paper. 

“Pardon, Anna,” Ann shyly edges closer to her, “but might I try your magic tome?” 

Anna is tempted to say yes, what are friends for after all? But even though she’s eager to make them like her, something still tells her that it might not be the best idea. 

“Sorry, it’s actually my brother’s,” She draws it away a little. “He doesn’t even know I have it.” 

“You stole from thy brother?” Ann looks both scandalized and awed, “For shame. How did you do it?” 

Anna smiles and tells them how Joe is so wrapped up in his own life that he barely pays attention to her sometimes. It also helps that she’s relatively small in stature so sneaking around unnoticed wasn’t difficult. Turns out, that was something she has in common with Betty. And then Ann began talking about how she was the oldest of twelve which meant that her younger siblings gave her _no_ privacy. They have so much in common, just like Anna knew they would. But she didn’t come all this way just to talk about their boring everyday lives. 

“Hey, do you guys want to see more tricks I can do?” Anna opens The Book again and extends her hand towards the rock from earlier. “Reverse!” 

This time, a green glow comes over the rock as two warping vortexes appear again. The rock is sucked into one portal, comes out of the other, but instead of just landing in its original spot Anna first threw it, it reverses its trajectory and flies into her open hand. 

The girls gasp and clap their hands in astonishment. 

“Thy magic is so powerful, it makes me giddy,” Abagail giggles, “But watch this, I can call the very wildlife to heed to me.” 

Abagail closes her eyes and bows her head. She begins to mumble something under her breath, the words running together. When she lifts her head, Anna jumps a little. Her eyes are rolled to the back of her head again, showing nothing but the whites. Tendons stand out against her neck. She mumbles the words she’s saying louder and louder until Anna can finally clearly hear what she’s saying. 

_“_ _Exaudi_ _animalia_ _silvarum_ _. Imperium ore_ _exíbit_ _gládius_ _acútus_ _!_ _Exaudi_ _animalia_ _silvarum_ _. Imperium ore_ _exíbit_ _gládius_ _acútus_ _!_ _Exaudi_ _animalia_ _silvarum_ _. Imperium ore_ _exíbit_ _gládius_ _acútus!”_

Anna feels an uncomfortable chill go through her and even the bonfire seems to flicker eerily. All of a sudden, two squirrels and a bird climb down out of the trees. Actually, fell is more the correct word. They landed at Abagail's feel and moved restlessly almost as if they were dancing. Or in agony. 

“How joyous!” Betty and Ann clap their hands, thoroughly entertained. 

“What are you doing!?” A new, sharp voice rings out. 

Abigail stops chanting and the animals scurry and fly away. She, Ann, and Betty become nervous and fidgety as another girl emerges into the clearing. She’s older than all of them, seventeen at the least, tall and slim with dark brown eyes. Her glare drops the already cold temperature a few degrees. 

“What is this that I am seeing?” She asks harshly, “Ann, Abagail, Betty! Why art thou a stranger in thy midst?” 

“The stranger’s name is Anna,” Anna answers smartly before she can stop herself. Probably not the best way to introduce herself, but she can’t help it. She doesn’t know what this girl’s problem is. It’s not like Anna stumbled across some secret meeting... oh. Right. 

“She’s- she’s one of us, Elizabeth,” Ann speaks up hesitantly, “she too has the gift of the craft.” 

“And I swear, I would never tell anyone about you,” Anna adds trying to sound nice.” 

“Hold thy tongue, stranger, in the presence of your betters,” Elizabeth hisses with a haughty expression, “I am thy elder so thou must give care to my words.” 

Anna bristles on the spot. Even Joe doesn’t talk to her like that. But then she feels a small hand slide into hers. She looks down in surprise to see Betty give the smallest shake of her head. Anna makes the effort to settle down again. 

“Might she be one of us?” Abagail asks apologetically, “She knows wonderous spells as well. Green fire comes out from her tome and moves things.” 

“Thy eyes have just been dazzled by the fire.” 

“No, ‘tis true. Show her, Anna.” 

Anna stares Elizabeth down and takes a step away from the others. She looks around trying to think of a trick to blow the apron off of smug Elizabeth. The problem is, there isn’t much else she knows how to do. It’s not like she gets a lot of practice time with The Book. The only thing she’s solid at is warping. 

And just like that, she knows what to do. Opening The Book to a map of the clearing, she sees that there are four red dots and the star representing her. She places her finger on her star and moves it a few inches. The world around her shifts again and comes into focus as the wisps of green mist fade away. It takes a minute for her to place where she is, but she soon realizes that she warped to the other side of the clearing. All of the girls, even Elizabeth, stare at her in astonishment. Abagail, Ann, and Betty then break into applause while Elizabeth gives her a smile that isn’t so friendly. 

“Well done, _stranger_ ,” Her tone is sarcastic, “But may I ask you something?” 

Anna shrugs like she doesn’t care, but Elizabeth’s tone is weirding her out a little. Elizabeth smiles coldly, the fire flickers, and she’s gone. Anna holds back a gasp, but can’t help a staggering step backward. 

“Where did you get your tome?” A voice whispers next to her ear. 

This time Anna squeaks and jumps away, spinning around to see Elizabeth now directly behind her. Elizabeth laughs at her stunned expression and even the other girls try to hide their smiles. 

“Oh, I just jest with ye, Anna,” Elizabeth’s face becomes a little more friendly, teasing. “Why art thou so serious in the face?” 

“Yeah, you got me alright,” Anna tries to laugh but it sounds forced. She clutches The Book a little tighter. “So, can I join you guys or what? Please.” She adds grudgingly trying to be nice. 

Elizabeth folds her arms and looks away, infuriatingly smug, “ ‘Tis not my decision to make. Thou must speak with Tituba.” 

“Tituba is my father’s slave,” Betty explains quietly to Anna, “And the one who gifted us these powers. She’s strange but you’ll like her.” 

“Tituba, huh?” 

Anna tries to remember what she read about her. The only thing her brain can come up with though is that even though she was accused of, and even admitted to doing witchcraft, she basically got off scot-free. Maybe Anna does need to meet her so she can learn how she did it. 

“There she is,” Elizabeth tilts her head to indicate over Anna’s shoulder. “We shall see if ye shall be one of us.” 

Twigs snap and dead leaves rustle. Anna turns around. An old woman with dark skin comes from the dark of the woods into the circle of firelight as if emerging from the shadows. A large heavy looking basket hangs from the crook of her elbow and a shawl drapes around her stooped shoulders. A beaded, leather circlet with two bright feathers sit on top of her long, stringy, black hair and her ears are pierced with two gold hoops. For a second, one split second, Anna could swear that her eyes are inexplicably silver. But she blinks and sees that they’re actually a nice shade of light brown. Must have been a trick of the fire’s light. 

Anna smiles at her since this apparently is the person she needs to impress, but even as she does smile, she feels a deep chill and a creeping feeling in the pit of her stomach. There’s something vaguely creepy about Tituba. Anna’s not even really sure she saw her walk out of the forest. It was like she just appeared out of nowhere. Or out of the shadows. 

“Hello, dear,” Tituba smiles kindly and the creeping in Anna’s stomach disappears. “And who might you be?” 

“Her name is Anna,” Elizabeth answers before she can, “And she wishes to join our coven. She has _some_ skill already, but she has yet to tell us where she acquired them.” 

“Oh?” Tituba gives Anna a once over and her eyes land on The Book. For some reason, Anna feels tense but doesn’t know why. Tituba's eyes meet hers again and she smiles. “Of course, you may join us, sweet dear. We’ll be happy to have more blood in the family.” 

Anna swallows, “B-blood? You mean that figuratively, right?” 

“Nothing for you to worry about, sweet child.” 

Tituba pats her arm to comfort her and Anna has to resist the urge to cringe away from her touch. Her hands are knobby and gnarled with age, but her skin is dry and soft. She also doesn’t remember Titubia moving that close to her. 

_It’s magic, duh,_ Anna chides her inner feeling of nervousness, _Me and Elizabeth were both doing it a second ago._ _Of course,_ _Tituba_ _can do it too._

But she can’t seem to get rid of the cold feeling in her gut. She watches as Titubia moves over to the fire. This time she does see her feet moving. She sets her basket down and reaches into a pouch tied around her waist and pulls out two feathers. She tosses them into the fire and it explodes into a tower of flame. Anna shields her eyes from the glaring brightness and Abagail and Betty both grip her hands tightly. When she can see again, the fire is back to normal size and there is an iron pot held up with a stand over it. 

Abagail lets go of her arm and shoots her a sheepish look, “ Tis quite startling the first time you see it. I was quite frightened the first time I witness it too.” 

“I wasn’t frightened,” Anna laughs quickly, “I was... startled. Like you said.” 

Abagail smiles like she doesn’t believe her but thankfully doesn’t call her out on it. Betty and Ann are teaching Elizabeth how to do the walking on air trick, and when she does it, she’s a lot more graceful than the two of them. 

“Shall we practice our magic together?” Abagail asks. 

“Sure!” Anna answers eagerly. She adds quickly though, “although I doubt, we’ll be able to do the same thing.” 

“I’m sure that’ll be no issue. Between the two of ye, thou shall perform many wonders.” Tituba smiles as them even as she starts putting things in the pot. Vegetables and roots from the look of it. Anna didn’t even know she had been listening. 

“What are you making?” Anna asks, curious. 

“Just a midnight snack, for my young mistresses,” Tituba pulls a jar of what looks like broth out of her basket and pours it in. The pot gives a slight tremble and begins to boil. “Would you like a taste?” 

Whatever is in the pot, it smells great. Savory and spicy, but not overwhelming. The scent even makes her a little sleepy. Or was that just because it’s so late out? 

“N-no, thank you.” 

Tituba nods, not in the least put-off, “Perhaps thou may feel differently once it simmers a little. Girls,” She calls to the others, “what shall I teach ye today?” 

“Show us how to really leave the earth!” Betty bounces in excitement. “Not just our feet!” 

“Come. Gather ‘round.” 

The four Salem girls, Elizabeth, Ann, Abagail, and Betty gather around her eagerly. Anna hesitates before joining them too. Tituba stands before them, looking old but not frail. She looks at each of them in turn, her eyes linger on Anna and seem to twinkle. She then collapses on her knees so suddenly that Anna jerks forward a bit to help her. Betty puts a restraining hand on her arm, her eyes completely focused on Tituba. Anna settles back again. A low mumbling starts coming from Titubia's open mouth, but at first, it doesn’t look like her lips are moving. But that has to be a trick of the shadows because as Titubia lifts her head, her words are stronger, clearer. 

“ _Qua_ _ratione_ _detester in_ _catenis_ _in_ _Terram_ _._ _Aer_ _exhibeatis_ _membra vestra.”_

With both of her gnarled, bent hands, Titubia begins writing strange symbols in the dirt. She chants the two phrases louder and the symbols in the dirt begin to squirm. Like snakes. Anna fights a shiver of disgust, feeling a bit magic-ist. Just because their magic is different doesn’t make it creepy. But it’s hard to feel that way when Elizabeth, Ann, Abagail, and Betty begin chanting the phrases too and the symbols break up and begin racing toward them. Anna bites the inside of her cheek hard. Hard enough to taste blood. Because once those symbols reach her new friends, they go under their full skirts and appear _under their skin_. Anna can see the writing writhing under the skin of their hands and faces. She tries to tell her brain that that isn’t what she’s seeing. That it’s a trick of light and the writing is on top of their skin. But she knows that’s not true. She fights the waves of disgust though, determined not to be cowed. Thankfully, the symbols fade until they’re almost not noticeable, and the girls begin to rise. 

Elizabeth, Ann, Abagail, and Betty’s feet leave the ground slowly until their whole bodies are gently bobbing in the air. 

“We’re doing it!” Betty’s eyes open with a gasp. Anna is more than a little relieved to see that her eyes aren’t rolled to the back of their heads like last time. She turns to Anna and her smile falls a little in confusion. “Anna? Shall you not join us?” 

“She has yet to know how.” 

Anna jumps. Tituba is now directly in front of her, less than a foot away. She didn’t even hear her walk over. 

“Shall I help ye to fly as well?” 

Anna swallows and looks over at the others. All four girls are weaving gracefully through the air like they’re swimming in an invisible pool. They giggle and smile and grab each other's hands for balance or to change direction. Anna feels a sharp jab of envy and longing. She wants to be like that. She wants to be with them. 

“Yes,” She nods and turns back to Tituba, “Please, help me be like them.” 

Tituba's smile is slow and triumphant, “That ye shall be. Now, repeat after me. _Qua_ _ratione_ _detester in_ _catenis_ _in_ _Terram_ _._ _Aer_ _exhibeatis_ _membra vestra.”_

Anna frowns, pretty sure she can’t just repeat a language she never heard before, but when she opens her mouth, the words come out freely. She keeps repeating them as Titubua takes her hand. She suddenly hisses though as The Book in Anna’s other hand zaps her with green lightning. 

“Oh my gosh!” Anna gasps, snatching her hand back, “I’m so sorry. It’s never done that before. Are you okay?” 

Tituba doesn’t answer for a moment and her expression is unreadable. Anna can swear again that her eyes look silver, but then Titubia looks up with an apologetic smile and her eyes are that warm brown again. 

“My apologies, young mistress,” She gives a slight bow, “I think thine magic does not abide well with mine.” 

“Oh... well... um....” Anna hesitates. She really _really_ feels like she should hold on to The Book. She didn’t even know it can shock people like that. But then she looks over at the other girls again. They’re flying even higher, their bonnets blowing loose from their hair. They’re smiling at each other, even Elizabeth. Anna steals her shoulders in determination. 

“I can put it away for a little while,” She decides. 

She sets it down carefully, but close by where she can reach it. She turns back to Tituba and starts chanting the words again. Tituba smiles but doesn’t reach for her hand again. Instead, she pulls a feather from the bag at her side and begins writing midair, chanting along with Anna. The symbols appear in the air and begin wiggling. Anna flinches as they start moving towards her, but they don’t touch her. They circle around her and she feels a gentle tugging sensation. Her stomach drops and her feet leave the ground as she starts to hover. 

“Whoa,” Anna gasps. 

She stops chanting, but the symbols don’t stop spinning around her. As a matter of fact, they begin to spin even faster until she can barely see one. Anna shifts her limbs experimentally and her body moves through the air. 

“Whoa! Whoa!” Anna moves a little more and her body seems to settle better. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Tituba asks her. 

“This is awesome!” Anna feels breathless and weightless. She bets Joe never did this before. She can’t wait to show him. Maybe she can even teach him. 

“I am glad. But I’m afraid this is only temporary for you,” Tituba sighs, “Though, perhaps there is a way...” 

“A way to what?” Anna glances over at the other girls. Betty is beckoning her over. 

“Oh, ‘tisn’t important now, sweet girl,” Tituba laughs, “Go, enjoy yourself with your new friends.” 

Anna doesn’t have to be told twice. She awkwardly flails her limbs over towards them. Elizabeth grabs her arms and gently shows her how to rotate her arms for smoother motions. She’s so busy having fun, that she barely notices Titubia anymore. 

* * *

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Sometime later, Anna isn’t sure how much later, whatever spell Titubia performed wears off and Anna gently falls to the ground. It isn’t long before the other girls stop floating too though and they join her. Tituba warns them that the night has gotten late and they should be heading back now before anyone sees them. Anna feels like she can barely walk her feet are so unsteady. The ground dips under her feet for a while before settling. That’s when Titubia offers her some of the stew that had been brewing the entire time. Elizabeth, Ann, Abagail, and Betty gobble theirs hungrily while Anna pours hers out when no one’s looking. She doesn’t mean to be rude, but her stomach is twisting in knots and she doesn’t think she can eat anything at the moment. Tituba cleans everything up by throwing everything into the fire sending up sickly sweet smoke into the air. 

“This night was _incredible,”_ Anna gushes as they walk out the woods together. “Do you guys do this every night?” 

“Yes... I mean no...” Betty yawns, her eyes heavy, “I... don’t know.” 

“Somebody isn’t a night person,” Anna laughs but no one else does. 

She looks around and sees that Betty isn’t the only one yawning. Ann and Abagail constantly bump into each other as they walk. Elizabeth’s feet drag as she walks. Anna frowns in concern. She’s tired too, but not that tired. 

“Worry not about thy friends,” Tituba is once again beside her, “Their magic runs deeper than yours at the moment and it can be tiring to carry such magic.” 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t know about that,” Anna mumbles. She wishes she could do so much magic that it would physically exhaust her. That would sound like some real magic power. 

“Thine wish might soon be granted.” 

Anna jerks and stares at Tituba. Had she spoken out loud? She can swear she didn’t. But before she can ask, they’re interrupted. 

“ _Wiiiittch_ _! Evil, vile witch!”_

They all stop as a woman crosses their path, hissing as she goes. She might be younger than Titubia, but her dress is dirty and torn, and her long hair is unkempt and messy. She looks sickly, but she’s glaring at them. 

No, Anna realizes, she’s glaring at Tituba. 

“Evil, vile witch,” The woman spits three times and holds up her hand, her thumb clenched between her first and second fingers. “Thy might have these poor girls wits clouded, but mine isn’t. Thou shall burn Witch Tituba. Burn!” 

Anna’s breath stops in her throat and she looks around in fear. Have they been found out already? She hadn’t seen them doing anything, but did that really matter? None of the other girls look nervous or worried in the slightest though. Just tired. 

“Um, guys,” she whispers, “Aren’t you worried? Someone just called us witches.” 

“Tis only Sarah Good,” Elizabeth tries to roll her eyes but looks too tired to even do that, “Who would give heed to a homeless beggar who mutters to thyself?” 

Ann, Abagail, and Betty nod in agreement. Anna relaxes but now feels sorry for Sarah Goode. She’s seen homeless women before and it was always kind of sad. They always looked so lost and lonely, and people always ignored them. Her shoulders go stiff again though when she glances at Tituba. Her eyes are narrowed as she glares at Sarah Goodes retreating back. In the dark, her eyes almost glow silver. 


	3. Chapter 3

Anna wakes up the next morning in a good mood. A great mood really. Last night was one of the best nights of her life. New magic, new friends, what more can she ask for? Sure, maybe sometimes the magic was a little... creepy sometimes, but who was she to judge? She had only been around time travel magic and Uncle Joe’s more birthday party, kid-friendly, sleight of hand magic. Which is fine if you’re into that sort of thing. But Anna is on to something bigger. Or at least cooler. 

Still smiling to herself, Anna starts to drift back to sleep again, when someone shakes her shoulder. It’s one of the Nurse children she shares the room with, getting her up for the day. Another thing she learned about Puritan times, there was no such thing as sleeping in. Dawn meant early morning prayers, chores around the farm, more prayers, chores around the house, bible study, more chores, and surprise surprise, even more prayers. Anna had always been more neutral on the subject of religion, but even she thought this was a little ridiculous. 

All morning and part of the afternoon Anna mopped, dusted, baby-sat, and kneeled for prayers. She isn’t a bad kid, but she has been grounded a few times. When she was grounded, mom made her clean. But all those times feel like a vacation compared to today. The skin on her hands turn red and itchy from all the harsh soap she used which she’s pretty sure wasn’t hypoallergenic. And her knees turn red and bruised from all the kneeling on the hardwood floors. Even throughout all of it though, she keeps her complaints to herself. The kids half her age don’t complain; they even have time to play in between work and prayers. Anna just bids her time until she hopefully earns some free time so she can spend more time with her new friends. 

So, she’s more than happy when Mrs. Nurse calls everyone in for lunch. Anna stands up from scrubbing the floor and cracks the small of her back. She’s itching to go practice more magic, but she could eat. Besides, whatever is in the kitchen smells amazing. 

Rebecca Nurse smiles at her as she walks in and takes a seat at the long wooden table in the middle of the room. A bowl of hearty soup and a steaming brown bun sit in front of her. Anna’s stomach growls but she waits politely for Mrs. Nurse to sit at the other end of the table. 

“Before we say grace, family, I’d like to thank Anna for all of her hard work,” Mrs. Nurse beams at her, “For though we are but strangers to her, she has become one of us. Working alongside us as Christ intended for us all to do as neighbors. To Anna.” 

Rebecca Nurse lifts her cup in a toast and the rest of the family copies her, smiling broadly at Anna. Anna feels flushes in happy embarrassment. Now she’s definitely glad she didn’t complain about chores. After grace, they finally start eating. Maybe it’s all the hard work she did early, but the stew tastes especially good. The broth is really light, but the vegetables are good. And the bread is a little on the dry side but at least it was hearty. It’s hard to really complain about a meal when everyone at the table is smiling and laughing and talking. 

A knock on the door barely interrupts the mood. One of Mrs. Nurse’s daughters answers the door. A few seconds later though, she comes back and tells Mrs. Nurse it’s for her. She gets up from the table and leaves the room. 

The rest of the family continues eating, but Anna is a little distracted by Mrs. Nurse’s sudden disappearance. Who could be at the door? Anna takes a quick glance around the table. Everyone is here so it couldn’t be a family emergency. 

The front door closes and Mrs. Nurse comes back to the table. She smiles at her family as she sits down to eat but her eyes look worried. She doesn’t say anything about the visitor, but she’s notably quieter as they continue eating. It isn’t until everyone finishes eating that she clears her throat and everyone pauses clearing the table. 

“Family,” Mrs. Nurse starts, “I would like all of us to be in prayer. One of the girls in town is seriously ill.” 

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Anna responds politely, but she can’t say she’s surprised. She’s sure a lot of people got sick in the 1600s. Not the best era for medical care. 

“Yes. 'Tis such a shame about Betty Parris.” 

“Betty!?” Anna jolts, “What happened to Betty?” 

Rebecca Nurse shakes her head, “She's ill but no one can find the cause of her ailment. Her poor mother is so frightened.” 

“Then we shall all pray for her,” Mr. Nurse folds his hands and begins to pray. 

Everyone else obediently closes their eyes and folds their hands too. Anna bites her lip; a pit settles in her stomach. Betty was fine when they left the woods last night. Really tired but fine. She waits patiently for them to finish praying and clearing the table so she can be alone with Rebecca Nurse. She lingers while everyone else leaves the kitchen; gathering ingredients to make something to take to the Parris’s. 

“May I help?” Anna asks sweetly. 

“Of course, dear,” Mrs. Nurse smiles and dumps raw dough onto the counter, “might thine knead this for me?” 

“Sure!” 

Anna rolls up her sleeves and begins kneading. She’s trying to keep calm but it’s hard. There’re a hundred things that could be wrong with her. A common cold could be deadly in this time period. But... if she’s honest with herself, Anna doesn’t think it’s the common cold. Deep down, she’s afraid, that maybe, it has something to do with what they did last night. It didn’t make sense though. She was fine last night. Everything was great. Anna could just be overreacting though. She has to find out more without giving them away. 

“So,” she starts casually, “What’s wrong with Betty? Is she coughing or something?” 

Rebecca Nurse shakes her head as she stokes the fire for the stove, “She won’t wake, poor dear. She tosses and turns and mutters strangely under her breath.” 

“Maybe she’s just stayed up late and she’s just tired.” 

“I pray that is all it is.” 

Rebecca Nurse makes the sign of the cross over herself and Anna shudders. Somehow, seeing that makes the situation feel more chilling. She rubs her arms as if to rub away the goosebumps. Mrs. Nurse takes the kneaded loaf and puts it in the oven to bake. 

“Can I... go with you? To visit her.” 

Rebecca Nurse looks at her and for a moment, Anna is afraid she’ll say no. Her light blue eyes study her carefully and suddenly, for no real reason, Anna is worried that Mrs. Nurse is suspicious that she has something to do with Betty not waking up. But then Mrs. Nurse smiles and nods. 

“Of course, dear. Bless your sweet heart.” 

Anna breathes a silent sigh of relief. After the bread finishes baking, she helps her load her basket. The ride to town is silent as neither of them feels up to conversation. Mrs. Nurse prays silently next to her while Anna is lost in her own thoughts. She studied the Crucible in English class, not the historical Salem Witch Trials. Is this how it started? She vaguely remembers someone getting sick, acting weird, and everyone freaking out. But was that dramatization from the play? History was really vague about the start of everything. Books usually just mentioned some girls acting strangely before Reverend Parris and some men in authority (big shocker) freak out and the girls start accusing everyone of being witches. But just how reliable is that? Anna’s been to a few times where the history books were completely wrong about a lot of things. Good thing she has something better than an ordinary history book. She vaguely remembers Abagail talking about her uncle being a reverend. Maybe she should start there. 

Looking over first to make sure Mrs. Nurse isn’t paying attention, Anna turns away and pulls out The Book. 

“Show me the Reverend,” She whispers. 

She opens The Book to a portrait of a man with a long, narrow nose and shoulder-length, wavy dark brown hair. A white ruffle hangs by a knot in front of his throat and his expression is almost kind of nice. Not at all like the old, angry, religious fanatic, Anna imagined he’d be. Below the picture was a brief biography and his role in the trials. 

Born in London in 1653, blah, blah, blah. Started out as an unsuccessful merchant before changing locations, even more, blah, blah, blah. Anna skims the text until she comes across something that might be concerning. When Reverend Parris first witnessed his daughter acting strange, he tried to pray her better. Not bad. But then when she didn’t respond to prayer, he started claiming that the devil had infested Salem and it was up to the town to basically rat on each other if they suspected witchcraft. 

“Well that’s not good,” She mumbles out loud. 

“Pardon, dear? Did you say something?” 

“N-no! Just... praying that Betty gets better.” 

Anna doesn’t so much as pray as just hope that there’s nothing really wrong with Betty. Maybe it’s just a magic thing. One of the things she learned from Uncle Joe was that magic always burned energy. Betty could have just been totally wiped out after last night. She had been doing magic longer than Anna had. Or maybe Titubia’s stew had some sort of replenishment magic for after long bouts of magic, and maybe a side effect was that you slept in late and had trouble getting up in the morning. 

Looking at it that way eases her worry a little, but she still doesn’t have any sort of plan. Even if she could explain away Betty’s illness, it was the townspeople she had to worry about. No one could freak out. If they freaked out, everything could spiral out of control. Anna is great at warping, but can she turn the opinion of a town already on the edge? 

The carriage stops at a small, two-story house in the middle of town. Anna helps Mrs. Nurse out of the carriage and they head inside. A couple of women and young children stand around the living room talking and whispering. A woman with tired brown eyes spots them and heads over. She looks like an older version of Betty. Except more tired and thin, like she hasn’t eaten in a while. 

“Rebecca, thank the Lord you’ve arrived,” She clasps Mrs. Nurse’s hands in her own, “I’ve been so worried, and mine husband has yet to return with the magistrate.” 

“All I can give ye is mine prayers and kind thoughts. But that I have in abundance.” 

She nods to Anna and she hands the basket to Mrs. Parris. She barely seems to notice it though as she leads them upstairs. She opens the door to a plain bedroom where Anna sees Betty lying in bed. She looks so small and shrunken against her pillows. Her brown hair is matted with sweat. Her head rolls back and forth on her shoulders but she doesn’t open her eyes. Every now and then she utters a low mumble, but it’s impossible to hear what she’s saying. Anna’s stomach sinks like a rock. She can tell just by looking at her that something is seriously wrong. This is just more than sleeping in. 

Abagail is sitting in a chair next to Betty, holding her cousin’s hand. Her eyes meet Anna’s and immediately drop. Anna could have imagined it, but she almost thought she saw guilt flash through her eyes. 

“Poor sweet dear,” Rebecca Nurse leans over Betty and makes the sign of the cross over her, but is careful not to touch her. 

Mrs. Parris breaks into a small sob making Anna wince. Mrs. Nurse leads her to kneel together and they begin to pray. While they do that, Anna takes the opportunity to sidle closer to Abagail. 

“What happened?” She whispers, “She was fine last night.” 

“Shh. We must not speak of such things,” She hisses throwing a furtive glance at her aunt and Mrs. Nurse. “There could be much trouble for us.” 

“Betty is already in trouble,” Anna bites her lip, “Look, I know better than anyone that we should keep quiet about what happened last night. If we’re not careful, this could get really _really_ out of hand.” 

“I know not what this ‘out of hand’ means,” Abagail tightens her grip on Betty’s hand, “But we well know what could happen to us if we were found out.” 

“I’m sorry, but it’s really, really important that we figure this out before... before...” 

As Anna whispers though, Betty gives another groan and her eyes flutter open. She looks around wide-eyed, not seeming to recognize where she is. Her eyes land on Anna for a long second before landing on her mother’s bowed head. 

“Mother?” She croaks in a small, raspy voice, “Mother, what’s wrong?” 

Mrs. Parris’s head comes up at the sound of her daughter’s voice and cries out in surprise and joy. She leaps up from the floor and envelopes Betty in a tight hug, sobbing and thanking God. Mrs. Nurse was slower getting up, but her hands are clasped together and a big smile of relief stretches across her face. Anna breathes out in relief too and turns to share a smile with Abagail. Only... Abagail isn’t smiling. Her eyes are vague and glassy. Her hands hang limply by her sides. 

“Abagail?” Anna whispers feeling her stomach twist, “Abagail.” 

She reaches out to touch her, but Abagail jolts, and her eyes become focused again. She shies away from Anna’s touch and gives her a shaky smile. 

“I am well,” She whispers so the adults don’t hear. “Please, pray you don’t draw attention to us.” 

Anna frowns, “I won’t. I was just worried-” 

“There is no need for worries,” Abagail smiles tightly. The smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Everything is taken care of.” 

Anna doesn’t know what that means but she’s glad that at least they’re okay. At least she thinks that they’re okay. Everything is okay right? The Book says that the trails started because one of her friends started acting strange and everyone panicked. But Betty was better. Abagail says she’s okay too. But if everything is okay, then why can’t Anna relax? She even feels like she’s hyper-aware of The Book in the pocket of apron. It would be so easy for her to take it and go home. Maybe she should go- 

_No!_ Anna forcibly cuts the thought short before it can grow. She’s come this far, the worst seems to be over, there’s no reason for her to get afraid now. She doesn’t even know why she keeps having these thoughts. It’s not like her. 

Betty begs her mom to allow her outside and (after a prayer of thanksgiving of course), her mom lets her. Actually, everyone decides to go outside, probably for chores and so Mrs. Parris can share the news that her daughter is better. Anna manages to get Betty and Abagail a little away from the adults and Mrs. Parris’s watchful eyes. 

“Betty, what happened back there?” Anna asks in concern, “You looked really bad.” 

“’ Twas nothing, Anna,” Betty gives her a weak smile, “I was just exhausted after last night. I’m alright now.” 

“I told ye not to worry,” Abagail smile is tighter, “Ye would think that we were the newcomers to magic and not yeself.” 

She and Betty giggle, but to Anna, it sounds a little forced. She wants to tell them that she’s probably been warping and using The Book a lot longer than any of them. But maybe now wasn’t the best time to pick a fight with her two new friends. Especially since they just scrapped by what could have been a major problem. 

“So,” she says to change the subject, “maybe we should find Ann and Elizabeth and tell them what happened. They should know right?” 

“Anna, thy worry too much. There’s nothing...” 

Abagail trails off and her eyes go wide. Betty calls her cousin’s name and tugs on her sleeve but gets no response. Abagail’s mouth hangs open, getting wider and wider until she screams. A blood-curdling scream that makes the hair on the back of Anna’s neck stand up. 

“Abagail?” Anna starts to reach for her but is too afraid. “Abagail, what is it? Stop! Stop screaming!” 

Abagail just keeps screaming, only pausing long enough to suck in a breath to scream again. Betty gives a short sob of terror and clings to Anna who clings back. She feels frozen, paralyzed with terror. Mrs. Parris, Mrs. Nurse, and a few other passing adults rush over to see what’s wrong. Abagail isn’t aware of any of them. She continues screaming until her mouth suddenly snaps shut with an audible click. But her eyes remain wide and glassy. Her head rocks loosely on her neck. 

“Abagail!” Mrs. Parris shouts, “Abagail Williams, what is the matter with ye child?” 

Suddenly Abagail goes stock still and her entire body relaxes. She blinks before her eyes seem to focus again and she blinks again and tears fill her eyes. 

“Oh, auntie,” She cries, diving into Mrs. Parris’s arms, “I didn’t know where I was. It was as if I lost.” 

Mrs. Parris stares down at her niece, her expression still fearful. Abagail’s arms are wrapped tightly around her midsection, but Mrs. Parris’s arms only hover around her shoulders. 

“But what happened, child?” She asks in a shaky voice, “What made ye act so?” 

Abagail separates herself from her aunt and looks through the crowd. Her eyes go wide and her mouth falls open again. Anna cringes and braces herself for the scream, but something else happens. 

“Her!” Abagail screams, “Tis she who done this to me!” 

More than one suspicious, hostile eye turns toward Anna. But she isn’t the one Abagail is pointing at. Those eyes and the eyes of everyone else follow Abagail’s outstretched hand to a lone person, walking apart from anyone else. A woman wearing close to rags, carrying a basket that held what looked like bruised fruits and vegetables. Anna recognizes her from last night. Sarah Good. 

“ 'Tis she!” Abagail shouts, “She bewitched me!” 

Anna’s breath catches in her throat and her heart gives a painful thump. The adults around them gasp and clench their hands with their thumb between their first and second fingers. They turn towards Sarah Good and start whispering amongst themselves. 

“Abagail,” Mrs. Nurse bends down so she can look her in the eye, “’Tis a serious accusation thy art-making. Perhaps ye are overtired as well and need to lie down.” 

Anna nods and gives Abagail a pointed look, “Yeah, you don’t want to accuse people for no reason, do you?” 

Abagail glances at her but quickly breaks eye contact again. Her mouth is turned down in a small, unhappy frown. Before Anna can drag her inside herself though, another scream cuts through the air. Everyone’s heads whip around trying to locate the source. The scream comes again. 

“Shoo! Shoo! Get thee away from here!” 

Anna looks over and her heart sinks like a rock. A few houses down, Ann is outside with who looks like her sister. Her sister is looking on in speechless horror though as Ann stands screaming, flapping her apron at something that isn’t there. 

“Shoo! Shoo!” Ann shrieks and starts stomping her feet, “Sister, help me with these vile dogs.” 

“Ann, there are no dogs! What art thy doing!?” 

What is she doing? Anna doesn’t know, but she does know that she has to put a stop to this. She starts to run over, but yet another sound makes her freeze in her tracks. 

Laughter. High, maniacal laughter. Elizabeth stands in the middle of the road, wet laundry scattered around her feet, laughing hysterically and pointing at Sarah Good. The longer Elizabeth laughs, the redder her face becomes and the more breathless she becomes. Her laughs begin to sound like screams. Ann is screaming now too, kicking at something no one can see. 

“Back! Go back to your mistress, stay away from me!” She screeches, kicking the dirt towards Sarah Good. 

And then Abagail starts gasping and hitching in her breath as if she can’t breathe. She pushes away from Mrs. Parris and takes a few staggering steps towards Sarah Good before collapsing to her knees. 

Ann is screaming and shooing away imaginary dogs. Elizabeth is in laughing hysterics over nothing. And Abagail is gasping and choking as if she’s being strangled. And then, to her horror, Betty’s lips begin moving at a rapid pace. Her words are low and mumbled at first, but gradually gets louder and clearer. 

_“_ _Hadha_ _faeal_ _. La '_ _aerif_ _ma '_ _aqul_ _. '_ _afeal_ _faqat_ _ma_ _qil_ _li. Hadha_ _faeal_ _. La '_ _aerif_ _ma '_ _aqul_ _. '_ _afeal_ _faqat_ _ma_ _qil_ _li.”_ Betty repeats over and over again, her expression downcast and pained. 

Anna watches helplessly as Elizabeth, Ann, Abagail, and Betty, all turn toward Sarah Good who doesn’t seem to notice any of them. That is until all of Anna’s new friends open their mouths and scream at the top of their lungs. Sarah Good whips around and meets over a dozen confused, hostile eyes. Her eyes narrow at the sight of the girls screaming at her, before she opens her mouth and spits on the ground in defiance. And just like a switch being flipped, all four girls instantly stop screaming, blink twice, and go back to normal. Elizabeth gathers up her fallen laundry, Ann tries to take her sister’s hand who snatches it back, and Abagail looks around her like nothing had happened. Only Betty refuses to meet anyone’s eyes, staring down at her shoes. The adults break up and move away from the girls, throwing concerned and suspicious looks and whispering among themselves. 

Anna finds it difficult to breathe as she stares at Abagail and Betty. It had all happened so fast. They had all lost their minds at one time. This isn’t how she thought things would go. She was supposed to prevent them from being caught doing magic. Not... this! 

“What was that!?” She snaps looking at Abagail and Betty in turn, “Seriously!? Do you know what you guys could have done? What could have happened!?” 

Betty looks away from her but Abagail folds her arms and shuffles her feet in the dirt, “Why must thou speak as if you know the future? Thou are not that much older than us. We are not thy children.” 

“Are you accusing me of being bossy!?” Anna’s mouth falls open in disbelief, “I’m trying to help you! And for your information I do know the future because I’m from the future. And if you keep pulling stunts like this, we’ll all be in big trouble!” 

There’s a mean chuckle as Elizabeth and Ann (without her sister) head over to them. Anna glares at Elizabeth as she chuckles again and looks Anna up and down with a smirk. 

“Forgive me for my laughing,” She says, “It is just thy seriousness is amusing. We only jest.” 

“You think this is a joke!?” Anna snaps and looks at each of them in turn, “This is not funny. Especially pretending that someone is bewitching you. They could get killed.” 

Elizabeth makes a dismissive gesture with her hand, “Ye are but children. No adult with sense will believe us of such serious matters. And what is power not for but wielding over the weak-minded?” 

“That’s- that’s not what magic is for!” Anna glares at her, “you’re going to ruin everything!” 

Elizabeth glares right back at her, staring her down, “This is not any of thou affair, stranger.” 

Anna refuses to back down, even though Elizabeth is bigger, meaner, and older than most of the mean girls she’s had to deal with in school. But being called a stranger again stung. She knows she only met them yesterday, but she had thought they had a connection. Through the magic that these girls were threatening to destroy with their little prank. It hurt even more that none of the other girls, not even Betty, were making any effort to defend her. Their eyes stay glued to the ground. But if they weren’t going to listen to her, there was someone they would listen to. 

“Let’s see what Tituba says when I tell her all about your little ‘jest’,” she threatens. 

“Anna, don’t,” Betty starts but Elizabeth puts a hand up to stop her. 

“No, let her,” She looks down her nose at Anna, “Tituba belongs to us, not her. We’ve known her longer.” 

“That doesn’t matter. I’ll convince her to listen to me. Where is she?” 

No one answers her at first, and Anna starts to think she’ll have to knock door to door. But then Betty admits that she works for her family, and was probably at the house now doing chores. Mrs. Nurse is busy talking to Mrs. Parris so Anna takes the opportunity to make her way over to the house to see Tituba. She’s going to stop the girls one way or another. She doesn’t know what’s so funny about acting possessed and calling witch. No one had gotten arrested and the Reverend isn’t here yet, so there is still time to turn things around. 

As she approaches the house, Anna hears noises coming from the backyard. She goes around back and sees Tituba scrubbing clothes in a tin basin. Anna can feel herself calming down a little as she walks up to her. Tituba would know what to do. She would put a stop to this. 

“Mistress Anna,” Tituba smiles warmly at her as she walks up. “This old heart swells with joy to see ye, sweet child.” 

“Thanks, but I didn’t come just to say hi,” Anna hesitates though. It was one thing telling on her brother. It was pretty much expected of her as the little sister, and even then, she didn’t do it that often. Doing to the friends she just made was a whole different matter. But if it would save them from themselves, she would do it. 

“I need you tell you, about the girls,” Anna starts, “They’re... acting weird. Like really weird and it’s freaking people out. Elizabeth says it’s a joke, but it doesn’t feel like one.” 

Tituba stops washing and sits back with a tired groan to look at her. She scrutinizes her face closely. 

“Pray, tell me what happened.” 

So, Anna tells her what happened. From Betty not waking up until late afternoon, to the insane behavior outside. All of it directed at or pointing to, Sarah Good. She tells her about the adults looking concerned and suspicious, and even the looks pointed at herself. And the worst part of all of it, how she tried to warn the girls that nothing good would come from what they were doing. How none of them seemed to take her seriously, especially Elizabeth. 

“So, I was wondering if you could talk to them,” Anna finishes, “Since, you know, you were the one who taught them magic in the first place.” 

Tituba sighs, a tired, weary sigh, and gives Anna a look so full of sadness that she almost regrets bringing this to her in the first place. 

“Young mistress Anna, from the moment we met I knew we shared the same burden,” she says, “Thine troubles are mine troubles.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Young mistress, we have more in common than our love of magic. We are both different from others, ye and I. Do you not see this is so?” 

Anna frowns in confusion. Aside from magic she doesn’t really see what they have in common. Tituba was so old, Anna isn’t even in high school yet. Even their magic is different. Anna had never even seen the kind of magic Tituba performed before. Anna only knew some tricks with The Book. 

Tituba gives a low, amused chuckle at her expression, “I see that the young mistress might be blind to the ways of the world around her.” 

“I’m not blind,” Anna bristles, “As a matter of fact, I know exactly what will happen if they keep acting weird and slinging around accusations like they’re doing.” 

“Tituba will incur the blame.” 

“You will- y-yeah,” Anna blinks in surprise, “How did you know that?” 

Tituba shakes her head sadly, “Because Tituba is a very old woman who knows the ways of this world. I know that people like us are often taken advantage of by people like them.” 

“People like us?” 

“Yes, like us.” 

Tituba holds up her arm and Anna suddenly gets it. She was talking about the color of the skin. Anna hadn’t really noticed, but they were the only two people in town with similar skin complexions. Race never really occurred to her, but she remembers belatedly that Tituba was a slave. Elizabeth’s comment about Tituba belonging to them takes on a whole new meaning. 

“Oh,” Anna says quietly, “I’m sorry.” 

“It is life,” Tituba shrugs and picks up her washing again, “Throughout my long life I have often been taken advantage of because of my skin. The young mistress is underestimated because of her youth. Is this not so?” 

“Y-yeah!” Anna jolts and stares at her, “How did you know?” 

“Because we are alike you and I.” 

Tituba scoops some water from her washing basin and mixes it in the dirt to make mud. She then draws a feather from her sleeve and places it in the puddle. The mud sucks up feather and begins to bubble. And then, right before Anna’s eyes, a clay stool rises out of the mud and hardens. Tituba pats the stool and smiles at Anna. 

“Sit and tell me your troubles.” 

Anna moves toward the stool, but hesitates. She wants to tell Tituba all about Joe, and how he leaves her behind even though she knows magic just as much, if not more than he does. But something nags her in the back of her mind. Like she’s forgetting something. She did come to Tituba for a reason, right? 

She glances down trying to think when she notices the water in the wash bin. It swirls slowly in the basin, the soap subs trailing lazily like wispy clouds. She does have a lot to get off her chest. It’s been a while since she’d had anyone to really talk to. And isn’t that why she warped here in the first place? 

“Okay, so it’s like this,” Anna sits on the stool beside Tituba, “I have a brother who’s... interested in magic too. Except I work hard at magic but he doesn’t. And yet, he’s always leaving me behind and he never takes me seriously.” 

“Because your magic is not as strong as his?” Tituba guesses. 

“Yes! That’s exactly it!” Anna exhales and slumps over, resting her head on her knees. “It’s not fair. No matter how hard I work, sometimes I feel like my magic will never be as strong as his. And all because he just happened to be born first.” 

“’Tis a sad fate indeed,” Tituba nods sympathetically, “But... it doesn’t have to be thine only fate.” 

Anna’s head comes up and for a minute, she sees a greedy glint in Tituba’s eyes. But then she lifts her head with a kind smile and Anna thinks she just imagined it. But she still feels nervous and apprehensive at the turn the conversation is taking. 

“What do you mean?” She asks cautiously. 

“When I was a young child, I was taken from my home, my family, and everything I knew,” Tituba starts sadly, “I was made a slave with no power of my own. I worked for them, slept when they allowed me to, even married who they allowed me to marry. There was no power on Earth that could stop them.” 

Anna shifts uncomfortably. She lifts a hand to touch her but it falls again, “I’m so sorry.” 

“That was until I found a power even greater than theirs,” Tituba lowers her voice and leans closer to her. The glint in her eyes reappears sending a shiver down Anna’s spine, “Pray thee imagine having more power than thine ever dreamed. Power to make the stars sing. Power over nature itself. Even enough power to make thy brother weep with envy.” 

A smile starts on Anna’s lips. Power more than Joe’s? The so-called future Warp Wizard? Power to do more than just travel through time. Power. Real magic powers. She could see it, really see it. Her eyes glowing. Anything she didn’t like about herself changed in an instant. People respecting her, wanting to be her friend. Going on any adventure she chose- No! Creating adventures just for the fun of it! And the best part, Joe wouldn’t be able to stop her. He would beg her to hang out and even ask for help with the um... the... whatever it was he kept having trouble using. Anna would be generous of course and let him tag along. 

Until he crossed her. 

With real powerful magic, if Joe ever made her angry or annoyed or tried to exclude her, Anna could just- 

“Ow!” 

Anna jerks out of her thoughts as an electric shock, shocks her leg. She pulls The Book out of her apron pocket; she had completely forgotten it was there. It pulsates a bright green that slowly dies down. She didn’t know what was wrong. She had only been thinking about... something. She can’t really remember. But she does remember that Tituba was saying something about magic. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with my book. It never did that before. What were you... saying?” Anna starts to apologize with a sheepish smile but trails off at the look on Tituba’s face. 

Tituba’s stares at The Book in Anna’s hands with a cold, dark stare. She looks at it as if she’s expecting it to leap in the air and bite her. It did kind of bite her last night when she was trying to help Anna with magic. So, Anna carefully puts The Book back in her apron pocket. As soon as it’s out of sight Tituba smiles warmly at her again. 

“It must be such a burden carrying that _thing_ around with ye everywhere ye go,” She whispers, “With true magic, the magic I use, ye need nothing but ye own two hands.” 

Tituba opens her hands and soft balls of yellow-gold light and tan feathers emit from her palms. Anna gasps and giggles as they dance through the air around her. A scent follows, old and dry like fall leaves and mulch. 

“Wow,” Anna breathes with a grin, “That’s amazing! But... I don’t think I can do that.” 

“Haven’t ye been listening, dear heart,” Tituba waves away the glowing orbs and feathers, “I’m telling ye can! Because young mistress and Tituba are so much alike, I shall give you this gift!” 

“Really!? You can do that? Just like that?” 

Tituba makes an impatient clicking noise with her tongue, “Such impatience. Tituba has no such way.” 

“But... you just said...” 

“The gift is the opportunity, once in a lifetime it comes.” 

Tituba pulls a feather out of thin air and drops it into her basin of water. It bubbles and swirls until steam rises up and forms a cloud. Anna stares as the steam turns dark gray and figures appear. Silhouettes of trees and a clearing with a bright circle of white above the tree lines. 

“Midnight tonight, under the full moon,” Tituba whispers, “Come to the clearing where young mistress got her first taste of real magic. Meet Tituba there.” 

The figures in the steam shift and change. Now there’s a clearing between the trees. A small figure appears in front of a slightly bigger, bent figure. 

“We shall drink in the beauty of the night and then Tituba will give you what you desire more than anything.” 

The small figure begins to glow bright pink and then rises into the air. Anna catches her breath, her heart leaps as if she’s really floating right now. 

“But there is something ye must do first.” 

The image reverses itself until the small figure is back on the ground again and zooms closer between the two figures. The bigger figure holds out a hand and an open book appears. 

“Ye must sign a book.” 

“A book?” Anna’s thoughts feel sluggish and her mouth feels thick, “I have a... book.” 

“Childish dribble,” Tituba spits angrily before her voice becomes soothing again, “This is a special book. One that Tituba signed herself to gain her magic.” 

Tituba’s name writes itself on one of the pages of the open book. A smile spreads across the face of the bigger figure. 

“And if young mistress signs book too, she shall have more power than she ever dreamed in her wildest fantasies.” 

A page turns in the book and a scrawl writes itself. A grin spreads across the smaller figure’s face and their eyes start glowing bright pink. 

“Okay,” Anna’s voice feels like it’s coming from a long way off. She feels sleepy too, like she could sleep for ten hours or more. 

“It is a bargain then,” Tituba says close to Anna’s ear, “Young mistress’s signature in exchange for the greatest power she shall ever know.” 

“Tituba! Is the washing done yet?” 

Anna starts as a harsh voice cuts through the air. She lands with a thump on the cold, hard ground and looks around her in a daze. The steam cloud and the clay stool are gone without a trace. Tituba is gathering wet clean clothes in a basket. Mrs. Parris stands at the back door with her hands on her hips. She gives Anna a look of surprise and mistrust. 

“Stranger, what art thy doing in my yard?” She asks. 

Anna jumps up guiltily, “I- I was just-” 

“The young miss was just offering an old lady her help,” Tituba says calmly, “But I am a fast and strong worker.” 

Mrs. Parris looks at Anna a long moment before looking back at Tituba, “When thou art done with the laundry, I need ye to bring in wood for the stove and prepare a chicken for dinner tonight.” 

“Yes, miss.” 

Tituba nods and Mrs. Parris goes inside. Anna just stands there for a minute trying to clear her head. Could she really become a powerful sorceress just by signing a book? It sounds almost too good to be true. But Tituba did say she was giving her a gift. Wasn’t there a saying about not looking a gift horse in the mouth? Cinderella didn’t question it when her fairy godmother just gave her a gown, shoes, and a carriage. Why should she? 

As if reading her mind, Tituba stands up and looks at her with a kind, grandmotherly smile, “Please young mistress, think about the offer of the greatest gift I can give ye. I’ll be waiting for you at midnight.” 

Anna nods faintly, still feeling a little sleepy and leaves the yard. Her feet drag a little as she walks but she almost doesn’t notice. She doesn’t notice because her heart is starting to pound. It was happening! It was actually going to happen! 

Come midnight tonight, Anna would be doing real magic. 


	4. Chapter 4

The wagon bumps steadily along the icy, muddy road. Bare, skeletal trees line both sides of the road like a  sullen , silent crowd of onlookers. The oppressive landscape suits his mood perfectly. The only sound of life in this God-forsaken, baren forest is the heavy breathing of the horses in front of him and the chatter of the passengers behind him. Damien blows out a heavy breath and watches his breath cloud in front of him. He wishes he had his music with him, but he  can’t afford to blow his cover. He was in enough hot water as it was. So even though he hates it, he  has to complete his task. 

“I thank thee again for coming, Magistrate,” Reverend Parris says behind him in the wagon, “I need your help with serious matters in the town of Salem which God hath ordained me to lead in spiritual matters.” 

“And may God continue to lead you and give you strength,” the second passenger, William Stoughton answers, “I apologize again for my delay. My usual assistant suddenly took ill and I had to find a replacement.” 

“  ‘Tis understandable.” 

There’s a slight pause and Parris lowers his voice a little before speaking again. 

“Pray thee don’t mind me asking but ‘tis your assistant of a savage background? His skin and general coloring are quite dark.” 

Damien holds down an angry breath and keeps his expression neutral as if he  hadn’t heard. Next to their  sallow , chalky complexion, his darkly tanned skin is  pretty dark in comparison. And the only  reason why his normally bright eyes were a muddy brown right now is the contacts  he’s wearing. But still, is the color of his skin really that important? Oh, right. Puritan times. 

“The boy is trustworthy enough,” the magistrate answers behind him, “At least he comes highly recommended by a gentleman whose acquaintance I’ve recently cultivated.” 

Damien lets their conversation drone on behind him. He  doesn’t need to know how all this was set up. All he  has to do is focus on the role he has to play. Just complete it so he can be done with it.  There’s a bitter taste in the back of his mouth that  won’t go away . 

After a little while of driving and ignoring the conversation behind him, the township of Salem, Massachusetts comes into view. The buildings are mismatched children’s blocks against a slate blue sky. It looks quiet. Pilgrims in their heavy cotton walk around despite the  cold weather . Young kids aimlessly kick balls around. Girls chat with baskets of produce hanging over their arms. Men pull heavy wheelbarrows full of chopped wood. Damien watches them all and feels the knot in his stomach grow tighter. He sees his contact but makes no acknowledgment and neither do they. There will be time for that later . 

For now, Damien concentrates on one task at a time. He drives the carriage carefully through the town square, keeping his eyes shielded under his flat-topped hat. Not that  there’s much sunlight. A dull, white-yellow disk is the only representation the sun can give through the overcast sky. A sharp tap from behind catches Damien's attention, and he pulls the reigns to gently coax the horses to a stop. He jumps down from his seat and goes to open the door for his passengers. By now, some of the townspeople have stopped what  they’re doing to watch. But they  weren’t looking at him. They are watching to see who would come out of the carriage. Damien’s simple clothes and subservient attitude are the perfect camouflage which is essential if they want to… 

All the breath suddenly leaves Damien’s body in a sharp hiss and his thoughts shatter in an instant. No. It  can’t be. She  can’t be here right now. No one is supposed to know  they’re here. 

A sharp impatient tap brings Damien back and he quickly drops his eyes, silently praying she  hadn’t seen him. He opens the door of the carriage and the reverend and magistrate step out. Damien then goes around to the back to unload their luggage. As the reverend gesticulates and introduces Salem to the magistrate, Damien straps the heavy leather bags onto his back and shoulders. He barely notices the weight though as he cautiously lifts his eyes and his stomach drops when he confirms that yes, it is her . 

Anna Arthur. Sister of the Warp Wizard. 

She’s walking with Rebecca Nurse outside the scattered group of onlookers, carrying a basket. She  doesn’t seem to have noticed or recognized him, but Damien drops his eyes all the same. For some reason, she only half blends in. Mixing her modern clothes with Puritan clothes. He  doesn’t know why, but she  probably has a  really good reason. She is the sister of  the new Warp  Wizard after all . She  probably has years and years of time travel experience. 

“Servant!” Reverend Parris calls, “Bring the magistrates belongings  forthwith !” 

Damien nods obediently and follows them.  He’s careful to keep his expression neutral and passive but inside his mind is reeling. What is the Warp Wizard’s sister doing here? Had he sent her? Had the Sanction’s plans already been discovered ? 

Back at the Time Traveller’s Convention, ages ago it seemed, Damien had no idea who the cute girl in the hoodie had been. He had only found out later, after the Sanction’s plan had failed because the soon to be Warp Wizard’s sister had a vision of what was to come. Then the Warp Wizard had recruited his sister and even a powerful Lady of Magic and defeated the monsters they set loose in the center. Damien had been petrified of being found out, even if sabotaging the Sanction’ s plans  ha dn’t been his intention. He had been lucky though. No one had known he was the reason their plans had failed. And he  doe sn’t want to know what would happen if they di d . 

But now? Why was she here? Does she... know? 

Damien keeps himself still but shakes his head internally. No.  It’s not time to panic just yet. She  didn’t recognize him so there is no reason to assume that she knows anything. He just  has to act even more carefully and not give himself away. 

Reverend Parris leads Lieutenant Governor Stoughton back to his place with Damien following silently behind. This time he does pick up their conversation and listens carefully. 

“The souls that God has set before me to lead are weary in spirit,” Reverend Parris sighs, “the good townsfolk are so ill-hearted and distempered that they forget their duties to their only spiritual guide. Their tributes to me have been sorely lacking.” 

“Thine letters have troubled me indeed,” Magistrate Stoughton nods in agreement, “And thine harvests have been afflicted as well.” 

“’ Tis nothing but the influence of hell’s minions I fear.” 

“The winter has been long and harsh in many parts of this world.” 

Damien listens to every word, going over the checklist in his head. The people of Salem were hungry, cold, and uneasy. Reverend Parris was frustrated and based their troubles on spiritual elements. All of which makes the atmosphere conducive for division, hysteria, and isolation. Damien represses a shiver at just how perfect everything is. Like the events to come were planned long before the players were born. For all he knows,  maybe they were. 

Inside a small, two-story wooden house, a tall woman with her hair pulled tight under her coif is ready to greet them . 

“Husband,” She demurs in a soft voice and offers him a small  bow , “I am glad you are returned safely.” 

“Wife,” Reverend Parris gives her a  chaste kiss on the cheek and turns to the magistrate, “This is my wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton. The new magistrate of our realm. And his assistant and clerk, John  Sewallan .” 

“A pleasure my lady,” Stoughton bows low over Elizabeth Parris’s hand and kisses the air above it . 

“It is my honor,” Damien bows even lower, but  doesn’t kiss her hand. His status is too low for even that. 

Elizabeth Parris nods to acknowledge them but her eyes look far off and distracted. She turns to her husband and lowers her voice, “Husband, might I have a private word with thee?” 

“Peace love,” Reverend Parris lifts a hand to stop her, “I pray thee, show thy  dutiful hospitality to your husband and our guests. The journey was long and we are ravenous for substance. And the magistrate needs a place to rest and refresh himself and his clerk. Is  their room ready?” 

Elizabeth starts as if she wants to argue, but lowers her eyes obediently, nods, and calls over her shoulder. 

“Tituba!” 

An old woman with dark skin and wrinkles lining her aged face, and a feathered  shawl wrapped around her shoulders, comes out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron . 

“Yes, miss?” 

“Please show the magistrate’s clerk to the room I have made for them,” Mrs. Parris orders softly . 

“Yes, miss.” 

“Boy, I require my writing instruments to be set up immediately,” Governor Stoughton orders without looking at him.

“Yes, sir.” 

Damien bows and follows Tituba up the rough wood stairs. Tituba hums softly under her breath while Damien  remains silent. He counts his steps, keeping his eyes down and his mind carefully blank . 

“I hope this room is to thine master’s liking,” Tituba opens a door and ushers him inside . 

Damien takes a step in and thoughtfully takes in the small, neatly made bed and an even smaller  cot in the corner. A neatly carven wooden desk sits by the window decorated with hand-knitted curtains in a dusky red color. A simple dresser holds a  washbasin while a cloudy full-length mirror leans against the wall . 

“This room shall suit my master well enough,” Damien remarks . 

He sets the luggage down slowly, being careful not to portray a single grunt or sound of discomfort. He  doesn’t even try to work out the soreness in his shoulders. Behind him, Tituba chuckles sending icicles down his spine . 

“Such a quiet boy you are.” 

There is the gentle  rasp of the door closing, but even then, Damien  doesn’t turn around. He goes on stoically unpacking the magistrate’s things as the  nearly silent padding of Tituba’s footsteps draw closer . 

“Boy,” Tituba’s voice is soft, grandmotherly even, “You aren’t afraid of old Tituba, are you?” 

“What does the darkness have to fear?’ Damien responds coolly and finally turns his attention to her . 

Tituba is closer than he expected her to be, but he  doesn’t betray his surprise or discomfort. Tituba smiles in amusement, her gold tooth  glinting in the afternoon sunlight. She moves away from him and begins pouring a handful of black sand onto the floor in a circle . 

“Now?” Damien only allows a little surprise to come through his tone . 

“No better time my boy.” 

Tituba sits by the edge of the circle. She pours more sand into the circle and uses the  frills of a feather to  crudely draw the image of a horned eagle inside of an upside-down triangle, surrounded by pieces of a snake, and nods at Damien. He picks up the mirror from the corner and holds it upright over the drawing. He lets go as soon as he feels an unseen force tug it into place where it stands straight up.  It’s even harder now to  maintain his stoic exterior knowing what was about to happen. He kneels next to Tituba with a twisting stomach as she lights the tip of her feather and touches the flame to the sand-drawn image. The sand smolders and wisps of dark smoke darken the surface of the mirror. Tituba and Damien’s shapes disappear as another shape takes form. The image grows darker and more refined until a third person appears, kneeling in front of them . 

Damien silently releases the breath he was holding and lets his muscles relax  minutely . Giles  Valhos doesn’t pose  nearly as much as a threat as the person Damien originally expected to see . 

“You’re late,” Giles grumbles, his irritated gaze aimed at Damien, “I’ve been waiting for you to report for half an hour.” 

Damien frowns. He had only gotten this assignment a few days ago, had to learn to drive a horse-drawn carriage, had to drive it through icy, muddy roads, and stop every few miles because of the magistrates... ill constitution. But none of that matters to these people so he says nothing, lowering his gaze in silent  admonishment . 

“The boy matters not,” Tituba says dismissively, “I have already made way. The plan is on schedule.” 

Giles nods looking pacified, “And what is the status of the girls?” 

“They are like kittens playing in a silk bag,” Tituba answers, “unaware of the dark river below.” 

“Good,” Giles turns his dark gaze back to Damien, “Are you clear on your assignment, boy?” 

“The Salem witch trials will proceed as planned,” Damien answers steadily, “Reverend Parris is a religious  zealot already frustrated with the town, and the townsfolk return the sentiment. And I’ll work closely with the magistrate to make sure everything proceeds as planned.” 

“You both better make sure everything proceeds as planned,” Giles looks long and hard at  both of them now, “The plan must not fail again. We must not fail again. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.” 

Damien represses a jolt of fear and scans Gile's face carefully for any sign of accusation or blame. But Gile’s expression is strained and reflective.  Maybe he’s not the only one in fear. Beside Damien though, Tituba  scoffs angrily and in indignation . 

“What is this ‘we’ business?” She grunts, “My part was completed successfully. I  acquired the eggs from that foolish shopkeeper’s grandson without detection. Nothing went awry on my end.” 

“Mine either,” Damien echoes immediately, trying to sound just as indignant as her, “The eggs were planted accordingly and none was the wiser until they hatched.” 

“Perhaps the plan faltered on your end, my dear  tactless Giles,” Tituba  scoffs , “Wasn’t it you who was discovered by the Warp Wizard’s dog?” 

Damien forces a short, dismissive laugh as Giles reddens.  As long as he keeps the attention away from himself and on Giles, he just might continue to go on unsuspected . 

“I had that situation handled!” Giles barks, “Besides, the sister of the Warp Wizard already somehow knew about the plan. A fine time for her to suddenly awaken her magic.” 

Damien suddenly feels nauseous and struggles to keep it from showing in his expression. He  can’t tell if Giles is subtly trying to accuse him or if he has any suspicion about his involvement however accidental it may have been. Whatever happens, his loyalty must not be questioned. Which  brings to mind another  serious issue . Does he tell them about Anna? Damien knows that he has nothing to do with her being here, but the coincidence is too strong to not be suspicious. But if he says nothing, Damien still has plausible deniability. The Sanction  probably doesn’t know who Anna is on sight. The only  reason why he knows what she looks like is because he put two and two together. The Warp Wizard foiled the Sanction’s plans because his little sister had a vision? Who else could that have been but the girl Damien had sent a warning to? But if he can put two and two together,  what’s to say the Sanction  can’t ? The same girl showing up twice during the same plan Damien’s a part of ? 

But if Damien does say something,  perhaps he can earn recognition as being useful and watchful instead of a liability. He clears his throat and tries to sound important . 

“There might already be a problem with our plans,” He sits up straighter, trying to look commanding, “The younger sister of the Warp Wizard is already here.” 

“What!?” The surprised look on Giles’s face is somewhat of a comfort. So, the Sanction  hadn’t already known. “How? What is she doing here? Does she already know of our plans?” 

Damien opens his mouth, ready to sound just as concerned, but more dignified than Giles, but Tituba clicks her tongue and holds up her hand . 

“Contain yourself Valhos,” she croons, “The girl will soon be taken care of by yours truly.” 

Damien turns to her with a raised eyebrow,  in order to look  disbelieving and not concerned. Why didn’t he just think about taking care of her with no questions asked? 

“Oh really? And how do you propose to... ‘take care of her’?” Giles asks before he can . 

Tituba smiles another grandmotherly smile, but the words she says are anything but, “The girl has greed in her heart and lofty ambitions in her head. Not unlike you yourself my dear  Valhos . Come midnight, her soul will belong to the Sanction.” 

Giles nods in satisfaction and Damien lets his shoulders relax. Whatever does or  doesn’t happen, it has nothing to do with him. Nothing . 

* * *

Turns out, Puritans  don’t have running water. So, Anna volunteers to go to the well so Mrs. Nurse can start heating water for the younger kids to take a bath. She needs some alone time to think. The well is a  good few yards away from the house and she takes her time filling the buckets Mrs. Nurse gave her . 

Her footsteps make clear tracks in the soft earth as water sloshes out of the bucket  she’s carrying, but she  doesn’t really notice it.  She’s feeling too conflicted to notice much of anything right now. Except everything going through her head . 

And to think, the day started out so well. Anna had been excited to talk with, and get to know her new magical friends. They were going to bond over girl stuff, and practice their magic together . 

But now Anna  doesn’t feel like hanging around any of them after that episode in the square. Elizabeth had said they were only joking, but this was so not funny. No one was taking her warnings seriously. The only good thing to come out of today was talking to Tituba. At least, some of it had been good. Tituba had been less than helpful with the girls, (it had taken a lot of thinking, but Anna finally remembered  that’s why she went to her in the first place). But she had also offered Anna something she  couldn’t easily pass up. More magic than she ever thought she could have. 

“But that’s not the  reason why I’m here,” Anna sighs as she brings the water in the house and starts dumping it into the large pot on the stove, “I’m supposed to be helping these girls, not getting magic for myself.” 

And there was something about the whole ordeal that  doesn’t sit well with her. She  doesn’t know what it is. Tituba seems nice enough.  Kind of like a grandmother. And she  seems to like Anna. They even have  being constantly underestimated and unappreciated in common. Why shouldn’t Tituba want to give her a hand ? 

“Besides, I can always use The Book and come back,” She bites her lower lip in thought, “Yeah, and with my new magic, maybe I can help them better.  Yeah ,  that’s it. It might be better this way. I know what I’m dealing with, and tomorrow I’ll have enough power to do something about it.” 

The thought makes her feel a little better, but it also feels like  she’s just trying to convince herself. She  doesn’t remember Aladdin trying to convince himself to use the magic lamp. Or Cinderella trying to convince herself that she deserved a new dress and carriage from her fairy godmother. Somehow though, Anna  can’t really believe that Tituba is her fairy godmother . 

“Anna, dear. Is everything okay?” 

Anna jumps and turns to see Mrs. Nurse staring at her. She tries to smile at her, but it feels forced and shaky. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Why are you asking?” 

“Child,” Mrs. Nurse gives her a gentle smile of concern, “Ye have been staring at that half-empty pot for a while now.” 

“Oh um...” Anna hesitates. Mrs. Nurse looks genuinely kind and worried about her. And unlike Tituba, Anna  isn’t getting any weird  vibes about her. But even though she does like her, Mrs. Nurse is just a regular townsperson. She has no idea  what’s going on, and Anna  isn’t sure she wants to involve her in case things get... complicated. 

“I’m fine,” Anna decides to plaster a smile on her face and protect her from the truth. “I just... noticed that the pot still isn’t full yet so I’m so going to go get more water.” 

She turns away and leaves before Mrs. Nurse can stop her and ask her more questions.  It’s not so much that  she’s too prideful to ask for help, but she just  doesn’t want to get someone as sweet and old as Mrs. Nurse involved. And maybe if Anna signs Tituba’s book, she  won’t need  anyone’s help ever again. 

Halfway to the well, Anna suddenly freezes. Her head comes up as well as the hairs on the back of her neck. She turns around and sees the farmhouse behind her, the windows still light with a soft, homey, yellow glow. In front of her, only a few feet ahead, is the well, standing alone on a patch of wet earth. The moon is full,  its cool  light illuminating the year clearly.  There’s nothing else. The yard is mostly empty . 

So why does Anna have a strong feeling that someone is watching her? 

Anna impatiently shakes her head, “Get it together, Anna.  You’re freaking yourself out. This isn’t like you.” 

She forces herself to keep walking and sets her buckets down by the well. She then starts pulling the rope to lower the attached bucket into the water below . 

“Why am I making such a big deal out of this?” She asks herself  out loud . “It’s a no brainer. I’ll just meet Tituba at midnight, sign her book, and all my problems will be solved.” 

“Don’t do it.” 

Anna gasps and spins around, almost falling into the well. She vaguely hears the bucket crash into the water below as she stares at the figure in front of her. Tall with a mostly slim build, except for his broad shoulders. A long, angular jaw and penetrating, light brown eyes that are  practically glowing orange in the dark. The moon light should be illuminating him like a spotlight, and yet darkness seems to cling to him like a physical thing. 

Anna draws in another sharp breath when she realizes that those eyes are  actually glowing orange . 

“Don’t scream,” The figure speaks in a low, husky voice. 

“I wasn’t  gonna ,” Anna tenses as she stares him down, “Who are you?” 

Instead of answering the figure starts walking towards her. She gets a closer look at him and recognizes him as the carriage driver from the square who brought Reverend Parris and some magistrate to town. He was so  nondescript that she  hadn’t paid much attention to him then. Now she sees  he’s only a teenager, a year or two older than her tops, but Anna  isn’t letting her guard down. He  wasn’t behind her a second ago, that much is for sure. His footsteps make almost no sound. She suddenly wishes she  hadn’t left The Book inside. 

“Don’t come any closer,” Anna orders trying to sound braver than she felt. “You didn’t answer my question. Who are you?” 

“You don’t need to know that,” He answers evasively, but he does stop coming towards her. “All you need to know is that you can’t sign that book tonight.” 

Anna’s eyes go wide and she feels goosebumps rise all over her arms. “H-how did you know about that? Who are you!?” 

The guy puts a finger to his lips and glances back towards the house. Anna sucks in a breath and clenches the edge of the well behind her. She could scream. She should scream. Bring Mrs. Nurse and Mr. Nurse and the whole family out here in seconds. But  there’s something dangerous about this guy. Something ominous. The Nurses are nice, innocent people. She  doesn’t want to do anything that might put them in danger . 

“How did you know about... that?” She asks in a  slighter calmer tone . 

The guy turns his intense gaze back to her. His expression is unreadable . 

“It doesn’t matter how I know,” He says, “Just know that you can’t trust every word that Tituba tells you.” 

“And why should I trust you?” 

The guy takes yet another step closer to her. Anna shrinks back and wishes she  hadn’t . The last thing she wants is for this creep to know  she’s scared . 

“Ask yourself one thing,” The guy’s eyes bore into hers, “What does Tituba want in exchange?” 

Anna’s mouth falls open, but no sound comes out. It sounds too much like the arguments in her head. But if she  can’t trust Tituba, why makes her think she can trust this guy? Who  literally came out of nowhere and who won’t even tell her his name? 

“It’s- it’s a gift.” 

“Why?” 

“Because she likes me. She wants to help me?” 

“Do you need help?” 

Anna’s back straightens and she glares down the creepy stranger, “I definitely don’t need your help, whoever you are.” 

The guy goes still and Anna stiffens. She watches him, but nothing in his face gives her any clue as to  what’s going on in his head. And then, after a tense moment, he slowly lifts his arm, his fist pointed directly towards her. Anna’s chest tightens as she waits for him to blast her or whatever  he’s about to do. But then he turns his fist upwards and opens his hand. A flower, so dark purple that  it’s almost black, glitters in the palm of his hand . 

“You!” Anna gasps, forgetting everything else. She stares at the mystery guy in shock, “It’s- it’s you! You’re the one who-” 

The guy’s fist clamps shut around the flower, and thick black smoke comes pouring out between his fingers. The smoke increases until it consumes him entirely, turning him into a vague silhouette. The guy lifts a finger to his lips. The last thing she sees is his bright orange eyes until the smoke suddenly dissipates and  he’s gone enti rely . 

Anna stares shocked and confused at the once again empty landscape. Her knees feel weak and her mouth is dry. Did she... dream that? Hallucinate it? She shakes her head. No. No, she knows she  didn’t . But what does it all mean? One thing is clear. This... person, whoever he is, was the one who gave her that flower at the convention. The flower that gave her a vision that helped save a lot of people. But what did he have to do with any of that? Why did he warn her then? And why was he warning her now? Could Anna trust him? Or did she need Tituba’s magic now more than ever ? 

* * *

She  doesn’t know how she did it, but somehow Anna makes it back to the house with the water without letting anything show on her face. She went to bed with the others without anyone asking her  what’s wrong or commenting that she looked weird . 

When the night gets late and everyone else is asleep, Anna lays in her bed wide awake. Her mind is made up.  She’s going to meet Tituba in the woods. She  isn’t dumb, but she  isn’t a chicken either. Just because some strange guy says she  can’t trust Tituba,  doesn’t mean  he’s a good guy. Good guys  don’t come out of the shadows. Good guys  don’t have glowing orange eyes. But that  doesn’t mean that Anna’s just going to sign Tituba’s book with no questions asked. The least Anna can do is talk to her; let Tituba explain herself. 

When it gets late enough, and the house is completely silent, Anna sneaks out of bed, making sure to tuck The Book into her apron. Her heart is pounding with apprehension and anticipation. Something much bigger is going on here and  she’s going to  get to the bottom of this. The Book is her safe guarantee. If anything goes wrong, she can just warp home . 

Anna makes her way out of the house and only then opens The Book. She finds the clearing she marked on the map. Her finger hovers over the spot for only a second before she takes a deep breath and touches it . 

After the world shifts back into focus, Anna sees that Tituba’s already waiting for her.  She’s sitting on a tree stump; her eyes are half-closed like  she’s dozing off. She looks like such a harmless old lady, that Anna’s sure that the guy  doesn’t know what  he’s talking about. She also remembers what Tituba said about people often looking down on her for being a slave.  Maybe that was the guy’s problem. He  doesn’t trust her because of her race. Or  he’s just another  male  chauvinist who  doesn’t think women should have power. 

“Tituba?” Anna approaches her slowly and gently touches her shoulder, “Tituba, I’m here.” 

“Hmm,” Tituba slowly opens her eyes and gives Anna a sleepy smile, “Oh, so you are  mistress . Please forgive me, Tituba has had a long day.” 

“It’s no problem,” Anna sits back, drawing her knees up in front of her, “I had... a long day too.” 

“Shall we commence our business?” Tituba smiles and pulls a book into her lap.  It’s bound in black leather; the pages are yellowed with age.  It’s twice as thick as The Book and looks a hundred times older . 

Anna sees it and her stomach churns. She must be more nervous than she thought. But she  has to admit, something about it seems to be pulling her. She licks her suddenly dry lips and stalls . 

“So...” She tears her gaze away from the book and to Tituba’s smiling face, “If I sign this book, will it really awaken my magic?” 

“If you sign this book, you’ll have more magic than you’ve ever dreamed of.” 

More magic than she ever dreamed. Anna smiles. That guy, whoever he was, seems so wrong. Tituba would... no...  maybe Tituba doesn’t need to know about him. No need to tell her that someone else was quick to stereotype her . 

“Do you have a pen?” Anna asks instead. 

Tituba chuckles and hands her a feather, “I’m always prepared mistress.” 

She opens the book to a blank page and Anna lifts her hand to sign. Magic. More magic than she ever dreamed of. All she  has to do is sign.  That’s it. She signs and she has magic.  That’s all she  has to do.  That’s all she  has to do.  It’s what she wants to do. 

Then why isn’t she doing it already? 

“Young mistress?” 

“Huh?” Anna looks up and finds Tituba’s smile is more strained . 

“Why don’t you sign?” She asks, “Why do you hesitate on this gift Tituba is offering for free?” 

Anna laughs awkwardly, trying to cover her sudden case of nerves, “Free huh? Back where  I’m from, we say nothing is free. What’s the catch?” 

She’s mostly joking, but Tituba’s face suddenly changes like a thunderclap, becoming hard in an instant. She glares at Anna so fiercely that she sits back, the feather dropping from her hand . 

“You do not trust, Tituba?” Tituba draws herself up, suddenly seeming so much bigger. Her voice is low and angry, “You trust not Tituba’s word?” 

“N-no, it isn’t that,” Anna tries to explain but is starting to become wary. Tituba’s  isn’t acting so grandmotherly anymore. And she does seem  really eager for her to sign her book .  “It’s just, I think I need more time to think about this.” 

“What do you need to think about? Do you want true magic or no?” 

“I- I want to do magic!” 

“Then sign!” Tituba yells. 

“No!” Anna yells back . 

Tituba’s eyes darken. Her arm shoots out and a surprisingly strong hand grabs Anna by the collar of her jacket. She yanks Anna to her feet and glowers at her . 

“You  impertinent , spoiled, foolish girl,” She spits, “I offer you your greatest wish, and you play ducks and drakes with it? You choose to make Tituba angry instead of accepting her gift?” 

“I choose,” Anna swallows the fear welling up in her throat, “To get away from you!” 

In one motion, Anna reaches into her apron and pulls out The Book, her book, thrusting it at Tituba’s face. Tituba hisses in fear as it glows bright green and anger and drops Anna. Anna  doesn't waste a second. She opens the Book and quickly selects the Nurses home on the map. The world spins around her and  she’s back in her room in the farmhouse. She lays still for a moment, listening to the uninterrupted sound of the Nurse children’s heavy breathing . 

She lets out a shuddering breath and wipes the cold sweat from her forehead. Her heart is still pounding a mile a minute. She  can’t believe what just happened. What she almost got herself into. But instead of feeling scared, Anna feels more determined than ever. No matter what happens now, she absolutely  has to save the other girls from Tituba’s  clutches . 


	5. Chapter 5

As the sun breaks over the horizon, the dark room is slowly filled with gray light. Anna is already awake, staring at the ceiling. She barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she had a new nightmare. Tituba with her bony, gnarled hand clutching her by the throat, smiling her grandmotherly smile. Tituba stirring her cauldron, the screams of her friends- Betty, Ann, Abagail, and even Elizabeth- coming from its depths. Or Anna would be running through the woods, and thousands of glowing orange eyes would stare at her from between the darkness of the trees. Or she would be at the bottom of a deep, dark well slowly filling with water, and he would be at the top, staring down at her with an apathetic expression. That expression never wavers as she screams for help until the water closes over her head. 

Those were just  dreams though. The real threat is right here in Salem. There is no doubt now that Tituba is evil. Anna can’t believe she couldn’t see past her fake, grandmotherly smile before. And that guy with the orange eyes- who was he? Something about him sends chills down Anna’s spine, but he did warn her about Tituba. But how did he know about her? First things first though, Anna has to warn her friends about Tituba.  She has to save them before it’s too late.

So even though her head hurts from lack of sleep, Anna sneaks out of bed before the sun can finish coming up so she can sneak out before chores. She doesn’t want to be rude, she just has no time to waste. Before she leaves the room though, she checks her hiding spot under the mattress for The Book. Should she bring it? It could be useful if she needs to propel Tituba or something. But then again, does Anna really want a powerful magic object around people who would probably accuse their own shadows of witchcraft? In the end, she decides not to bring it. The last thing she needs is someone to accidentally say something to trigger it in front of the whole town. And then she really would be in trouble. In the end, she decides not to bring it after all. Besides, the farmhouse isn’t that far from town. If Anna runs into trouble, she can always book it back in like ten minutes and grab it then. 

Anna makes it downstairs as quietly as she can. So far so good. The dog walks by her, wagging his tail, but he seems to be the only family member that is up. Anna edges toward the door, but movement catches the corner of her vision. She spins around to see Mrs. Nurse standing in the kitchen doorway. Anna freezes, suddenly feeling guilty. 

“Where are you going, dear?” Mrs. Nurse asks.

Anna bites her lip. She can’t bring herself to lie to her face, “Out. I need to see my friends.”

“Maybe you should stay inside,” Mrs. Nurse is kind but firm, “You didn’t seem well yesterday.”

“I’m fine.” Now Anna does lie. Her head hurts from lack of sleep and she feels fuzzy. But now isn’t the time to be weak. 

“Please, sweetheart. What troubles ye so? Tell Rebecca Nurse everything.”

She lays a hand on Anna’s arm and Anna looks into her gentle, smiling face. A feeling of warmth and security makes its way throughout her body. Her headache disappears, the fuzziness is gone, and she feels renewed strength flowing through her. The temptation to stay with Mrs. Nurse is strong. She could just stay here and bake cookies or something. But Anna isn’t the type of girl to just stay home and bake while her friends are in danger. She has to warn the others. 

“I have to go, Mrs. Nurse,” Anna says firmly, “Betty, Abagail, Ann, and Elizabeth are in danger. If I don’t help them, no one will.”

Mrs. Nurse doesn’t look convinced. Her concerned look for Anna doesn’t grow less. Her grip shifts to Anna’s hand and she holds it tightly. Her hands are soft and Anna can feel the thin, brittle bones underneath her wrinkled skin. 

“Those girls are trouble.” She says quietly. “You should stay away from them. Maybe it’s time you move on from Salem and find your family.”

“No,” Anna shakes her head firmly, “I’m sorry but I can’t leave yet. I have to talk to my friends.”

She reluctantly pulls her hand out of Rebecca Nurses and leaves the farmhouse on foot. She hates having to just leave Mrs. Nurse like that, but she really doesn’t have a choice. Anna almost feels responsible for those girls now. Normally she’s a great judge of character. She should have seen through Tituba sooner, on her own. All those creepy feelings she got. Every time things didn’t appear as it should. Anna can’t help but think she could have avoided all of this. 

She runs into town and looks around for her friends. It’s still really early but there are a few people out. Anna shivers in the cold air. Everything is cold. The icy puddles are re-frozen over. A lot of people have their bonnets and cloaks up. She can’t see their faces too well. She thinks she sees Ann walking some scraggly chickens, but when she walks up to her, the girl isn’t someone she recognizes. She even gives Anna a suspicious look as Anna apologizes. She looks around more and heads to where she remembers where Betty Parris lives. Part of her doesn’t want to go there because she knows that’s where Tituba lives, but she has no choice. Betty is so sweet and innocent. She shouldn’t be involved in any of this. Anna heads over to the house but as she draws closer, she spots something in the trees near the back. The figure almost blends into the shadows. It’s too tall to be Tituba though. Anna takes a detour and moves closer. 

“How should I know what the problem is?” the figure says in a low voice, “I was there when she said that she had it handled. I left the girl up to her.”

The figure pauses and there’s another voice, but as hard as Anna looks, she doesn't see anyone else. 

“This is going to provide issues. Issues that can throw our whole plan in jeopardy!” 

There’s something vaguely familiar about that voice. Anna just can’t seem to put her finger on it. 

“Giles, I still don’t see why you’re talking to me. Shouldn’t you be yelling at Tituba?”

“That’s Mr.  Valhos to you,  _ boy.” _

Anna moves closer and silently gasps when the figure comes into view. It’s the guy from last night! Even though she can see him clearly now, he still seems to blend with the shadows. His body seems to shift with the shifting shadows. He’s talking into what looks like an open pocket watch. And Anna also knows the other speaker. Giles  Valhos . The man who was behind the Gremlin attack at the convention center. She doesn’t know why or how, but it looks like her question about the mystery guy’s loyalty has been answered. He’s nothing but bad news. Anna feels a surge of anger go through her. She moves forward to confront him and personally spoil whatever plans he has in mind. But the guy’s eyes flick up and spot her immediately. Anna stops dead in her tracks as his intense eyes zero in on her. His glowing orange eyes are now a muddy brown, but that doesn’t make them any less intense. 

“I’m going to have to call you back,” He snaps the pocket watch close with a click, his eyes never leaving hers. “What are you going here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Anna straightens up and tries to look brave, “What are you planning in Salem? And how do you know Giles  Valhos ?”

The guy straightens too and stares Anna down. Glowing eyes or no glowing eyes, Anna still feels a chill run through her body. He looks away first though. 

“This doesn’t concern you. Walk away, little girl.”

Anna’s face flames and she resists the urge to stomp her foot, “Who are you calling little girl!? And I will  _ not  _ walk away from this!”

“Lower your voice!” The guy hisses with so much force that Anna flinches. His voice then returns to a low gravel, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You need to leave. Now.”

“No. You leave. Leave Salem and leave my friends alone.” 

“That’s not going to happen. This is bigger than you know.”

“Is it?” Despite herself, Anna’s eyes widen, “ Wh -what’s going on?”

At once, the guy’s expression closes off and he turns away from her. “Nothing that involves you because you are leaving.”

“You have to tell me,” Anna advances towards him, “Because I’m not leaving until you do. I don’t know who you are but you warned me about Tituba so you must-”

The guy spins around and blows sparkling black powder in Anna’s face. A smoky, spicy scent fills her nose and makes it hard to breathe. The world spins and darkens. The last thing Anna sees is the world tilting sideways. 

Anna wakes up. The world is sideways because Anna is laying down. The shadows are different and the light has changed. Anna groans as she sits up from the soft, mossy ground. The guy is gone, probably long gone.

“Again?” She grumbles, rubbing her head, “I’m going to kill him.”

She stumbles away from the wooded area. She looks around trying to orient herself again. When she makes it back to the hard-packed earth of the town, she can immediately sense the difference. It’s like a different sort of cold front moved in since yesterday. Before, when Anna walked through town, people looked a little anxious, a little miserable. But now, everyone shoots deadly, suspicious glances at each other. Everyone walks in pairs whispering to each other. The courthouse doors, previously open every time Anna walked by, are now shut, the shades drawn . 

Anna tries to catch someone’s eye, to ask them if they’ve seen one of her friends, but they give her such dirty looks that she excuses herself and moves away. 

“... sent her to jail this morning...”

“... always knew she was a witch...”

Anna freezes as she catches wind of a conversation. She looks around wildly for the source. She spots two men talking pushing wheelbarrows of timber. She gets closer so she can hear their conversation, a pit sitting in her stomach. Are they talking about one of her friends? Tituba? Her?

“That Sarah Goode was always a strange one. Always muttering to herself.”

“ ’ Tis likely she was conversing with the devil. That spawn she’s carrying is probably the devil’s seed.”

Anna stops listening as her body goes numb. Sarah Goode was pregnant? And they put her in jail? Anna puts a hand to per mouth as a sudden wave of nausea hits her hard. It was their fault. Her friends accused a poor, pregnant homeless woman of being a witch yesterday, and now she’s sitting in jail. They might even...

No. Anna shakes her head firmly. This isn’t her friends’ fault. It’s Tituba’s! She tricked them into this. Now it’s more important than ever that she find her friends and tell them the truth. Finally, she spots Ann and Abagail talking and feeding chickens. 

“Guys,” She cries out running toward them, “I’m so glad I found you!”

“Anna?” Abagail gives her a confused smile, “Is something the matter? Ye are acting quite strange.”

Anna pauses as she comes up to them. Ann and Abagail are looking at her as if they hadn’t been accusing people of witchcraft yesterday. Did they really think what was happening wasn’t a big deal? Or did Tituba make them forget? 

“Guys, we really have to talk,” She presses, “We all have to stay away from Tituba.”

“Anna,” Abagail gives her a reproving frown, “Tituba has been a dear friend and servant for mine family for years.  T’isn’t nice to say such things about her.”

“She isn’t your friend,” Anna presses, “She’s evil and she’s trying to trick you. She’s trying to trick all of you!”

“Thou must be mistaken Anna,” Ann tries to giggle but it sounds off, “We know Tituba appears strange to thee eye, but she is our guardian in the wonders of-”

“She’s not a guardian! She’s a- a-”

. Anna trails off as she notices that Abagail and Ann have stopped listening. They are staring as a cat, a black as midnight, walks toward them. Its tail is raised high and its eyes are bright. Ann and Abagail stiffen as it winds through their legs before moving on again. 

“Mew, mew,” Ann mutters under her breath. “Mew, mew.”

Abagail utters a low, chilling cat growling noise from the base of her throat. The two girls then look at each other and giggle. A townsperson sees the three of them and clenches his fingers, his thumb between his index and middle finger, and throws them a dirty look. 

“Don’t do that!” Anna hisses. She takes their arms and pulls them away. “If you keep doing weird stuff like that, it’ll freak people out.”

Ann and Abagail exchange looks that almost look confused. Almost. Anna feels a slight shiver as the thought comes to her that maybe they know more than they’re letting on. That maybe they’re faking the confused looks. 

“Anna!” A small pair of arms wrap around Anna from behind and she’s so keyed up that she almost screams. Betty steps into her view though with a large smile on her face. “How are ye, friend?”

Anna feels her heart twist at the thought of little Betty being tangled in all of this mess. She ignores the strange guy’s warning that she’s the one who shouldn’t be involved at all. She needs to protect Betty and all of her friends. 

The court doors open and the guy from earlier stands at the top of the steps. Several people in the village stop to watch him. Behind him, Anna can see that the courtroom is packed. Anna grabs Betty’s hand, ready to pull her and her friends away when he unrolls a piece of paper and starts reading from it in a booming voice. 

“By order of the Chief Magistrate, Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton, hereby summons Elizabeth Hubbard, Ann Putnam Jr., Abagail Williams, and Betty Parris to bear witness in trial!”

“Trial!?” Anna feels the blood drain out of her face. Already!? This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!

Ann, Abagail, and Betty exchange a look that can’t be mistaken for anything but dread. But they obediently begin moving towards the courthouse. 

“Wait, no!” Anna clutches Betty’s hand harder. “You guys! Don’t go!”

“We have to Anna,” Abagail gently detaches her and Betty’s hands. “The Lieutenant Governor commands us.”

“And we must do our civic duty,” Ann adds. 

They all begin walking to the courthouse despite Anna’s protests. 

“Thou art a stranger to our ways, Anna,” Elizabeth joins them at the steps. She throws Anna a nasty and for some reason triumphant look as she climbs the steps into the courthouse, “We know not to disobey our elders.”

The four of them climb the courthouse steps. Anna tries to follow them inside but the guy puts his arm out to block her. 

“Last warning,” he whispers in a low gravelly voice. 

“No chance,” Anna hisses. 

The guy stares at her for a long second before stepping inside and letting her in. The door bangs shut behind them making her jump. The guy roughly pushes past her and heads to the front of the room. The courtroom is packed with people. Townsfolk fill both the pews and stand behind them. Three people in severe black robes and white wigs sit at a long table, high on a platform at the front of the room. Reverend Parris sits at one end, the magistrate sits at the other end, and in the middle is a man that Anna doesn’t recognize but by the size of his enormous, curly wig, she can guess that’s the judge.

It looks like the Salem Witch Trials have officially begun. 

Anna tries to ignore the panicked fluttering of her heart and watches as the strange guy takes his place at a small table next to the platform. Anna tears her glare away from him and looks around for her friends. The courtroom is too crowded though. All she can see from the back are elbows and the back of white bonnets. 

“The court of Salem, Massachusetts is now called to order!” The guy yells, “Bring in the accused.”

Anna holds her breath, waiting for them to drag in poor, pregnant Sarah Goode, but then all the breath leaves her body when the last person she expects is brought to the front. She can hardly breathe. The ground sways under her feet.

“No… No…”

Rebecca Nurse stands at the front of the room, her back straight, head humbly bowed and her hands clasped in front of her. The crowd restlessly mumbles and shifts, turning to each other to talk and mumble. Anna hears weeping and sees one of Mrs. Nurse’s daughters clinging to Mr. Nurse. 

“Order! Order in the court!” the judge bangs  his gavel.  Even he looks confused and he exchanges a  look with Reverend Parris.

“This woman has long been a valued  member of this  community. ” Reverend Parris says,  “ Who hath accused her  of witchcraft? ”

“I do!”

Heads swing  trying to locate the voice.  The mummers increase as Elizabeth stands at the front of the room.

“Elizabeth,” Anna hisses between her  teeth, “ I should have known.”

The judge fixes Elizabeth with a piercing look, “Young lady, this is a very serious accusation. Hath thou any proof?” 

“Her pies,” Elizabeth declares, “My poor mother was ailing from sickness and Rebecca Nurse brought over a pie. I tasted the pie and experienced strange visions that night as I slept.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Anna mumbles to herself as she shakes her head. 

But the way everyone else is looking at each other and murmuring, it looks like they’re missing that simple logic. Anna starts pushing her way to the front so she can make them see it. 

“What does the accused have to say?” the judge asks Mrs. Nurse. 

Rebecca Nurse takes a breath and lifts her head. She looks old and tired, but brave and strong. “Sir, I am an old woman. A mother and a grandmother. But foremost, I am a Christian. Does not the bible command us to care for the sick? For years I have brought baked goods for those sick in the body and sick in the soul to bring them some comfort. I ask you sir, is that witchcraft? Is that a crime?”

The mummers change, this time taking on a positive tone. Anna pushes her way to the front and catches Mrs. Nurse’s eye and gives her what she hopes is a supportive, sympathetic smile. Mrs. Nurse gives her the faintest smile in return, but her eyes are weary and sad. 

But suddenly, Elizabeth screams, clutching her throat. Every eye  fix on her as she gasps and coughs. She then lifts her head and stares at Mrs. Nurse in terror. 

“She’s- she’s choking-me!” She gasps and stutters. She dramatically lifts a shaking hand and points it at Rebecca Nurse, “The- witch-is-choking-me!” 

Anna would roll her eyes and laugh if the situation wasn’t so dire. Elizabeth is a terrible actress, but people are now looking at Mrs. Nurse like they aren’t so sure about her anymore. Why was Elizabeth even doing this? Anna looks around and sees her answer. Tituba is sitting a little off to the side near the witness box where her friends are. She’s knitting, eyes cast down and smiling as if none of what’s going on concerns her. And as if she can feel Anna’s gaze on her, Tituba lifts her head and smiles directly at her. Anna frowns and makes a point to ignore her. 

“Order! Order in the court!” 

The judge bangs his gavel but another scream rings out. Everyone’s head turns towards Ann who is now also screaming and clutching her throat. 

“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” Betty screams covering her ears. 

“Please, don’t hurt us,” Abagail sobs and clutches Betty to her. 

“Order! Order in the court!”

And through it all, Rebecca Nurse only bows her head, her lips moving in silent prayer. 

“Stop it! Will everyone just  STOP !?”

The court falls silent as every single person turns their head and stares at Anna. But she hardly sees them through all the red she’s seeing. She stares at her friends unbelievingly. She can’t believe they’re doing this. And she’s tired of just standing by and letting them do this. 

“Will you all just stop it?” Anna can feel her eyes burning but she refuses to cry. She looks at each of her friends in turn. Betty, Abagail, Ann, and even Elizabeth fall silent but refuse to meet her gaze. “Rebecca Nurse is innocent. She’s never done anything to any of us and you know this. We all know this.”

She lifts her head and looks at the rest of the courtroom, “Don’t you see what’s happening? None of this is real. It’s all lies and false testimony, but it’s going to hurt innocent people. The only one who isn’t innocent is  Tituba. She’s the real witch in this court!”

“Young lady,” the magistrate gives her a disapproving frown, “As you are neither a witness nor one of the accused, you have no say in this proceeding. And in the case of the slave Tituba, she has already pleaded guilty to witchcraft and has since repented.”

Tituba sends Anna a swift, smug smile. Anna trembles with suppressed rage and gives the judge an indignant look. 

“If Tituba  confessed then why isn’t she in jail?”

“I said order!” The judge bangs his gavel, “The court doesn’t need to explain its procedure to a little girl. Strike her statement from the record.”

“I don’t care if you strike my statement from the record!” Anna snaps at him, “Because my friends already heard me and they know I’m right.”

The judge bangs his gavel again. Ann and Abagail keep their eyes averted from Anna. Elizabeth shoots her one nasty look and allows someone to help her off of the floor. But Betty lifts her head and gives Anna a long, sad look. Her eyes are wet with tears and glassy with fear. 

The judge orders the court to be cleared while he, the magistrate, and reverend decide Rebecca Nurse’s fate. Everyone in that tightly packed room pours out into the town square. Anna loses sight of the girls for a moment but eventually finds them, huddled off to one side. Everyone is clearly avoiding them like the plague, eyeing them with suspicion. Her four friends are talking quietly, but fall silent when Anna approaches. 

“Anna,” Ann starts to smile, “We-”

“Cut the crap already, okay?” Anna sighs, “What are you guys doing?”

“What does thou mean?” Elizabeth feigns innocence, “We are doing our duty to our church and families-”

“I said, cut it out! You guys are lying! You know you guys are lying! What I want to know is why? Why are you accusing innocent people of witchcraft!?”

Ann, Abagail, and Betty don’t answer but start shifting uncomfortably. Elizabeth just looks at her with a nasty, smug expression on her face. And as Anna stares back at them, her face gets hotter and tighter like she’s about to explode. But then finally, someone does speak up. 

“We have no choice,” Betty’s voice is barely above a whisper. She looks up at Anna from large, misty eyes. “We are just doing what we’re told, Anna.”

“That’s enough!” Elizabeth hisses, cutting her off like a slap. She then turns to Anna with a snarl, “And you, keep thy lips shut or thou shalt never part them to draw breath again.”

Anna’s stomach drops and her mouth suddenly goes dry. But she stares right back at Elizabeth, “Is that a threat?”

“  ‘Tis a threat,” Elizabeth confirms with a nod, “So if thou know what’s good for ye, thou shalt stay out of our business,  _ stranger _ .”

There’s nothing that Anna wants to do more than to slap Elizabeth in her stupid face, but she forces her anger down and tries to plead with them one more time. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. 

“Please,” She says quietly. She opens her eyes to look at them each in theirs, “Please. Rebecca Nurse is innocent.  _ We _ played with magic.  _ Tituba  _ is playing with us. If there is anyone you guys should be turning on,  it’s Tituba. She’s evil. The only thing that Rebecca Nurse has done is be kind and generous.”

Elizabeth just stares at her. Ann and Abagail can’t even look at her. Only Betty meets her gaze, but tears are glinting in her eyes. A wave of defeat and frustration comes over Anna. She has to do something though. Rebecca Nurse is in trouble and she feels like it’s her fault. But what can she do? But then, it hits her. She can talk to the real people in charge. The magistrate, the judge, and the reverend. Anna leaves her friends with a new purpose. She practically runs back to the courthouse and burst through the double doors. 

And runs right into the weird guy’s arms. She tries to pull away from him, but he holds her by the shoulders, keeping her from going further. 

“How did I know that you’d come storming in here?” He deadpans with his usual impassive expression. 

“Let me go!” She demands, yanking herself free. She cranes her head to see past him and realizes that the room is empty, “Where are the magistrate and the judge? I have to talk to them.” 

“ You know I can’t let you do that. ”

“Please!” Anna cries, losing her cool as her desperation increases, “Please. I don’t know whose side you’re on, but Rebecca Nurse isn’t on anyone’s side. She’s just an innocent person. All she’s ever done is care for the people in this town.”

“There’s nothing I can do ,” He whispers in a low voice, “Even if I wanted to, everything has already been put in motion. It’s too late.”

Anna shakes her head stubbornly , “ It’s never too late to do the right thing. ”

The guy  narrows his eyes and his expression  becomes stony. He grips Anna’s arm hard enough  to bruise and steers her towards the doors. 

“The court is closed to any and all interlopers until the judge has made his ruling,” He says loudly, pulling her outside.

He slams the door behind her and she turns around and kicks it in frustration.

Anna is too anxious and  angry to try and talk to her friends again.  She’s also too anxious to talk to anyone. She’s afraid to go home and get The Book because she might miss the sentencing, and if it all went south, she wants Mrs. Nurse to know she has at least one ally in the crowd. 

Eventually, the doors open again, and everyone files back in. Anna makes sure she has a seat in the front row. Elizabeth, Ann, Abagail, and Betty sit on the other side of the room in the witness box. As everyone else either finds their seats or standing room at the back, Anna has a prime view of the magistrate, judge, and reverend coming in through a side door and settle themselves at the table. 

“Order. Order in the court,” the judge bangs his gavel, “We are prepared to pass our judgment.”

The guy who pushed her out stands up from his clerk table with a folded piece of paper in his hand. He avoids Anna’s eyes as he walks up to the head table and hands the paper to the magistrate. The magistrate does a double-take as he looks at the paper. He bends down and whispers something to the guy and he nods firmly. Anna holds her breath. Maybe she got through to him after all. The magistrate leans over to the judge and nods. The judge looks surprised but returns the nod. Anna throws Mrs. Nurse a smile of encouragement.

“The court declares Mrs. Rebecca Nurse- GUILTY OF WITCHCRAFT!”

The court explodes in an uproar. Even Reverend Parris stands up and leans over to the judge and magistrate, saying something that Anna can’t hear. But then again, Anna’s heart is pounding so hard in her ears that she can’t hear much of anything. And then, like some dark force tugging at her, she turns her head and finds Tituba’s dark, triumphant smile.

The court is dismissed but it takes several minutes for the court to empty out. Everyone seem shocked and surprise at the verdict, but are helpless to do anything about it. Mrs. Nurse is led out first through a side door before Anna can get to her. But there is someone else Anna can get to. She disappears through the crowd as everyone leaves, but Anna spots her again lingering with the other girls. 

“Elizabeth!” Anna yells, “We have to talk. Now!”

“Not now stranger,” Elizabeth shoots her a bored look and starts to walk away, “I have nothing to say to ye.”

“What is wrong with you!? Why are you so soulless and so clueless?” Anna snatches at Elizabeth’s sleeve to stop her. 

Elizabeth whirls around and slaps Anna across the face, knocking her to the ground. Anna stares up at her in shock, lifting a shaking hand to her stinging cheek. As a matter of fact, Anna is in so much shock that her brain malfunctions for a moment. She’s never been hit before. Never. The worst fights she’s had with girls at school- catty girl talk. The worst fights she’s had with Joe- screaming matches and tug-of-war for the remote or The Book. Even during her toughest warps, Anna had never actually gotten hit. 

“Thou hast spoken too boldly for your stature, stranger,” Elizabeth spat at her. 

Anna shakes herself out of her daze and glowers up at her. Her face hurts, and she’s beyond embarrassed, but she refuses to back down. The crowd from the courthouse is lingering around them, staring at the scene before them. 

“At least I’m not some stupid puppet who doesn’t even know she’s being used!” She yells at her. 

Elizabeth’s mouth falls open and all the blood drains from her face before going scarlet and her lips curl up in an ugly sneer. Even Anna knows what that look means, but as she struggles to get to her feet, Elizabeth lunges at her, knocking her back down. Flailing limbs and clouds of dust fill Anna’s vision as Elizabeth slaps, scratches, and hits her in the face and chest. Anna does her best to fight back, kicking and hitting her whenever she could, but Elizabeth is older and bigger and Anna struggles to even push her off. She struggles to breathe with her weight on her midsection. Betty, Ann, and Abagail scream at Elizabeth to stop but no one intervenes. Angry, frustrated, and even a little scared, Anna finally snaps.

“Get off me, you bitch!” 

Elizabeth goes flying backward, flying further and harder than Anna expects, before crashing down to the ground again. It was more than a push. She had been propelled. Anna sits up and stares down at her hands. Did she... really do that? She must have because Elizabeth wouldn’t have flown back like that from just a push. But Anna hadn’t felt any surge of energy or magic either. 

“You- you witch,” Elizabeth stands up on shaky legs, still glowering, “I shall make thee regret the day thy was born!”

Anna quickly stands up and braces herself for a fight. She doesn’t know how she did it in the first place, but she really hopes she can call up some magic again. Elizabeth stalks toward her and rears back her fist. The fist swings down... and comes to a jerky stop midair. Anna smiles. She knew she could-

“AAAAHHH!”

Elizabeth’s fist suddenly jerks back and her arm twists at the elbow in the wrong direction. Bones crack and snap as her arm contorts at odd angles behind her back. The smile drops from Anna’s face as Elizabeth’s blood-curdling screams echo across the courtyard. It’s like Elizabeth’s arm was trying to drag her away. Anna can only stare in horror. She knows she isn’t doing this. She can’t be doing this. She just can’t be! 

… or can she?

But when Elizabeth’s back is turned, Anna sees it. Tucked into the collar in the back of her dress was a feather. Anna’s gaze immediately snaps up as scans the crowd. She ignores the terrified stares and looks past the townspeople around them before she finds her. Hiding in plain sight, in the shadow of the courthouse, is Tituba. A matching feather twists and dances between her fingers. When she sees Anna staring at her, she smiles.

“It’s you!” Anna yells before she can stop herself, “You’re the one doing this! Not me!”

Few people turn at her accusation. Tituba doesn’t seem worried in the least though. Her smile only grows and the feather disappears as she waves hello. The contortions of Elizabeth’s arm  stops and she  collapses panting onto the ground. 

_ “Witch.” _

_ “Witchcraft.” _

_ “The stranger is a witch too.” _

The whispers of the townspeople twist Anna’s stomach into knots. She looks around helplessly at all the unfriendly, suspicious, hostile stares. Her so-called friends, Ann, Abagail, and Betty, make no moves toward her or away from her. They stare at her like she’s the one who lost her mind. 

“What is everyone looking at?” She yells, “Tituba is the real witch. Tituba is controlling everything!”

But no one is even listening to her. What is she supposed to do? She argued, she pleaded, she did everything she could to help her friends realize that they were being used in some dangerous, mysterious plan. And now, poor Mrs. Nurse, probably the nicest person in town, is being labeled as a witch and will probably die if she doesn’t do something!

And then, it occurs to her. The Book! She can use The Book. Anna doesn’t know exactly how it will help, but it’s the most powerful object in the universe. There has to be a spell or something that can help her now. She could even break Mrs. Nurse out of prison or something and bring her back to the present. She doesn’t care that it can possibly mess with history, she can’t let anything bad happen to the first person who was nice to her here. She can come back and save Betty, Ann, and Abagail later.

With her mind made up, Anna runs from the town center and back toward the direction of the Nurses’ farmhouse. It’s like a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. The Book will fix it. The Book can fix everything. Not for the first time, she’s so  so glad that she learned how to actually keep The Book with her during a warp. 

She burst into the farmhouse and the silence is like a physical presence. No children, no grandchildren. Even the dog is depressingly quiet and mopey. Anna shivers and rubs her arms. For a scary moment, she’s afraid that the magistrate and his so-called clerk rounded up the entire Nurse family and had them jailed as well. But then Anna remembers that they were at Mrs. Nurse’s hearing today. But Anna forces herself not to think about the outcome of that trial right now. Soon, she’ll be able to fix everything. 

But when Anna reaches the bedroom upstairs, icy fear grips her chest and her eyes widen. The room has been torn apart. Dressers drawers have been pulled out. Trunks turned upside down. Beds overthrown and torn apart. Clothes, toys, and hay litter the floor. Even some of the floorboards have been ripped up and splintered. 

“No,” Anna's voice trembles as she whispers, “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.”

She goes to her bed, even though she already knows what she’ll find there. 

The Book is gone. 


	6. Chapter 6

Anna doesn’t know how long she sat there in the torn-up bedroom. It could have been hours; it could have been minutes. The Book is gone. Every second counts. So, Anna knows it’s important for her to keep her panic at bay and think. She takes every millisecond feeling her skin buzz all over, focusing on nothing but breathing. 

Trying to breathe. 

Struggling to breathe. 

Anna draws in a deep, shaky breath and lets it out slowly. The Book being gone is a major setback, but it doesn’t mean she’s completely helpless. Every time Joe warps, he immediately loses The Book, and he always comes back safely. But he also had Fred and Sam with him. Or Jodie, Samantha, or Freddi at the very least. Anna is all alone. 

Her breath hitches and catches in her throat. She’s all alone. She came here to make friends, and now she’s sitting alone, stranded during the Salem Witch Trials. She had been so confident and sure of herself, and now things have completely spiraled out of her control. 

“No!” Anna shakes her head, “Everything is not out of control. I can handle this.”

The first thing she needs to figure out is where The Book is. Who took it is a little easier to figure  out. That weird clerk guy had knocked her out for hours. And she has it pretty much figured out that he knows a lot more than he’s letting on. He definitely could have stolen it. Or Elizabeth. She always had it out for her from the beginning. For all Anna knows Tituba ordered Elizabeth to steal it for her since Tituba doesn’t seem able to touch it herself. At least that’s one good thing. Anna doesn’t have to worry about Tituba using The Book to leave Salem and wreak havoc all over the space-time continuum. 

It doesn’t matter who has it though, she still has to figure out how to get it back. 

“The magistrate has to have it,” Anna clenches her fists, “And he’s staying with the Parris’s. Tonight, I’m breaking in and taking it back!”

There is no other choice. Nothing else she can do but wait. Anna hates waiting. But she knows she can’t just storm out in bright (more like muted) sunlight and break into such a prominent home. She’s too keyed up though to just sit and wait. So instead, she starts straightening up the room. Mrs. Nurse’s family doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. They don’t deserve anyone breaking into their house and messing things up just to get at her. Anna swears, when she gets The Book back, she’ll make it up to all of them. 

A cold breeze suddenly makes Anna shiver. She looks around but all of the windows are closed. 

“That’s weird,” Anna mumbles trying to rub away her goosebumps. 

**_ Boom! Boom! Boom! _ **

The banging downstairs echoes throughout the empty house like a shotgun blast. Anna freezes, her heart painfully clinching in her chest. It can’t be... not already... not so fast...

Her heart fluttering like a nervous bird, Anna looks around for a place to hide. The banging continues downstairs. She knows better than to answer it. The banging becomes steady. Anna spots a window facing the side of the house and has an idea. Something that she read in other books but never thought it would actually come in handy. As the banging turns into pounding, Anna strips all the bedsheets and ties them together in a makeshift rope. One end she ties to the biggest, iron wrought bedframe. She then opens the window the throws out the other end. It isn’t until she has one leg over the edge that Anna fully realizes what she’s doing. The ground seems miles below her. Her stomach churns. Normally, she wouldn’t say she’s afraid of heights. Back at home, her mom makes her and Joe do fire escape drills all the time. But there’s a big difference between a metal fire escape and these bedsheets. 

The sound of splintering wood causes Anna to make a decision. Gripping the blanket with both hands as tight as she can, she closes her eyes and jumps. There’s a breathless moment of falling before her makeshift rope tightens and her body collides with the side of the house. Anna stifles a cry a of pain and tries to turn her body to face the house. She can hear the thunder of boots coming up the stairs. Clumsily, but trying to go as fast as she can, she rappels down the side of the house. Her knees bang against the rough wood and a couple of feet from the ground she feels the blankets start to untie. 

“There she is!”

“Don’t let her escape!”

Anna ignores their shouts and crashes to the ground as the rope gives out at the last foot. She’s stunned by the hard landing for only a minute though and rolls to her feet. She runs for the back of the house and stops dead in her tracks. 

Reverend Parris, the Magistrate, and the weird clerk guy stand in front of her. She starts to turn around, but a couple of men from town step out from the front of the house. 

“Stranger Anna,” Reverend Parris steps forward, his expression stony, “Ye have been accused of and are hereby arrested on the charge of committing witchcraft!” 

* * *

In the end, it’s not like Anna can put up any sort of fight. She left her taser at home, she didn’t even think to bring it with her on a warp. So, she lets two men grab her by the arms and throw her into the back of a carriage with that weird clerk guy to keep an eye on her. Or rather, she keeps an eye on him, giving him the nastiest glare she can manage under the circumstances. He doesn’t even look at her. 

Anna is taken to the prison, a low building at the edge of town, and thrown into a dark, smelly cell with a dirt floor. It isn’t until the door is locked behind her and the men are gone that Anna lets out a shuddering breath and drops the tough façade for a moment. The cell is dark and gloomy. The only windows are small and high up above her. The only other thing in here is a dirty, stained cot. 

“It’s okay,” she whispers to herself, “It’s not like I haven’t been thrown in jail before. ”

But her hands won’t stop shaking. She balls them into fists and wills her heart to stop  beating so fast. She takes another look around her.  Even standing on the cot she can tell that the window would still be too high up for her to reach. 

“Well, that’s a bust,” Anna sighs. “But there has to be a way out of here.”

She looks around, one more time, peering through the gloom, determined to find an escape route. But her attention freezes when she sees a huddled figure in the cell next to hers. 

“Mrs. Nurse?” She edges closer to the wall of bars that separate their cells and sits down, “I can't say I’m glad to see you.”

Mrs. Nurse smiles sadly and her gaze falls to Anna’s knee, “Oh you poor dear. Ye have hurt thyself.”

“What?” Anna follows her gaze and realizes that one of her knees is scrapped and bleeding. “Oh yeah, I must have done that climbing down the side of your house.”

“You poor, sweet child.”

“It’s no big deal. I...”

Anna trails off as Mrs. Nurse reaches through the bars and places her hand on her knee. A warm, soft white glow emanates from her hand, warming her knee. When she removes her hand, the scrapes on Anna’s knee are completely gone. 

Anna’s mouth falls open in shock, “You- you healed me? Are you actually a witch?”

Mrs. Nurse makes a  _ tsk _ noise, “No sweetheart. My gift is pure. Passed on through my family since time immortal. Witches are ones born without magic but obtain it by selling their souls to the darkness.”

“But...” Anna frowns uncomfortably, “Just because someone got their magic a different way, doesn’t mean they sold their soul to any darkness.”

“I’m afraid it does dear,” Mrs. Nurse nods sympathetically, “It is as the saying goes, ‘Trust not those who defy nature and put their will above all.’ You can always tell between true, pure magic, and dark, twisted magic.”

Anna immediately wants to deny it, but the words stick in her throat. Her mind goes back to the way Tituba’s magic worked. The creepy, eerie feeling that she felt when it at work. And after what she saw at the trial, Anna can definitely believe Tituba sold her soul to darkness. And maybe Elizabeth. But she still has faith in Ann, Abagail, and Betty. But it hurts to think about them right now so she changes the subject. 

“I know someone else who can heal,” She says, “A girl named  Fina . But she’s also immortal. Does that mean...”

Anna’s momentary hope deflates as Mrs. Nurse shakes her head. She makes a dismissive gesture with her hand.

“ I know of who you speak.  This  Fina is regarded as a foolish girl in our community. Her tale has been told as a warning to young healers for centuries.”

“Is she... a witch too?”

“No. Nothing as reprehensible as that. But she chose to align herself to another’s cause. She sought to serve higher than the ones around her. We are meant to share our gift and goodness with the world. Be fruitful and multiply. Not sequester it and hide it under a bushel. It will only give her a lifetime of woes. Healers are warned not to follow her path.”

“She’s not that bad,” Anna quickly defends her, “She’s actually nice and helps my brother a lot. You two probably would have a lot in common. You might even like her if  you guys met.”

Mrs. Nurse smiles even though she doesn’t look convinced, “You sweet child. So, forgiving and kind. Such a rare commodity these days.”

“Tell me about it,” Anna mumbles. 

She’s starting to feel a little depressed and hopeless. Everything had been so right- what- a day ago? Two days ago? And now she’s hearing all witches are people who sold their souls? What does that mean? For her, she means. She always knows that Joe has real magic (he’s bragged about it enough times). But what about her? She feels like she has some sort of magic inside, but what if she was just being optimistic? And is she willing to sell her soul for it? 

“Maybe if we worked together, we can escape,” Anna ventures after a while. 

Mrs. Nurse shakes her head, “Sweetheart, they would just come after my family. I lived a good life. I am content to die if it means they live in peace.”

“Oh...”

The two of them fall silent, each no doubt lost in their own thoughts. The light fades from the cell quickly as the sun sets. Anna sits near the bars, just in case Mrs. Nurse needs her, and uses her arms as pillows. The ground is cold and hard but she can’t bring herself to lay on the moldy cot. Besides, maybe the discomfort will help her focus. Maybe she’ll have a vision that will get them both out of here. 

The clanging of her cell door jolts her awake. Anna chokes on dirt and blinks rapidly at the suddenly bright sunlight flooding her cell. Is it morning already? How in the world did she fall asleep? 

“Stranger Anna!”

In the bright glare of the light, Reverend Parris and the weird clerk guy stand in the doorway. The weird clerk guy’s expression is blank as usual but the reverend’s expression is completely different. He stares at Anna like she’s barely human. A mix of cold hatred and intense fear. Two other men stand behind them. One of them is carrying bulky wooden shackles. The other is carrying a rope. Anna feels a cold bead of sweat run down her back and her heart clenches painfully in her chest again. There aren’t here to-

“Thy trail is to commence forthwith,” the guy declares reading from a piece of paper, “Come forth willingly, or thy shall be dragged out.”

Anna stands on weak knees and tries to will her legs to stop shaking. She was trying to be brave and strong, but things are happening too fast. 

“Will I... get a fair trial?” She asks softly. 

For a minute, a second really, she can swear Reverend Parris’s expression softens a little around the edges. 

“Thy shalt have a fair trial in the eyes of God and man,” He states with a nod, “that I can guarantee.”

_ Somehow, I doubt that,  _ Anna thinks but doesn’t say. She walks up to the bars, head down, hoping to look as humble and innocent as she really is. She glances back behind her at Mrs. Nurse’s cell. She’s sitting on her cot, head bowed and hands clasped in prayer. As if she can feel Anna’s eyes on her, she lifts her head and offers her a reassuring smile. Anna smiles back and when they let her out of her cell, she turns to face Reverend Parris with new determination. 

“We’re both innocent,” she says firmly. “And if your trials really are fair, you’d see that. But you’re too blind to realize that real evil is practically best friends with Betty right now and teaching her to be exactly like her! You are a terrible father and uncle to those girls.”

Reverend Parris gives a choked gasp and stumbles back a step. Even Anna is surprised. It’s something she’s thought, but never put words to. But then Reverend Parris’s expression changes to rage in a thunderclap.

“Silence witch!” 

He rears back his hand and Anna flinches, waiting for the blow. When it doesn’t come, she cautiously opens her eyes. The weird clerk guy firmly holds Reverend Parris’s arm, stopping him from hitting her. His normally dull eyes are intense and sharp as they bore into Reverend Parris. 

“What- what is the meaning of this?” Reverend Parris snatches his arm away, “Mister John  Sewallan , thine job is to-”

“Our job is to bring her in unharmed,” the guy’s tone is neutral and his expression is back to normal, “She is still a girl, my lord.” 

Reverend Parris stares him down for a moment before turning to the other two men, “Tie her.”

The two men come forward. One shackles Anna’s wrists, the other holds the rope tightly like it’s a lifeline. As if he needs to take extra precautions. It was almost kind of funny. These grown men are really afraid that she’ll suddenly start shooting fire out of her eyes or turn them into frogs or something. Even in this terrible, worst-case scenario, the thought makes Anna smile a little in both disbelief and utter amusement. One of the men sees her smile though and hisses like a scared cat. He clenches his thumb between his first and second fingers so hard that the digit turns dark red. 

Reverend Parris impatiently orders her to get moving, and she’s corralled outside toward a wagon. The weird clerk guy, going by the name John Sewallan (but something tells her that it’s a fake name) brushes past her as they walk. 

“Ye should watch thine tongue, little girl,” He says in a low voice out the side of his mouth, “Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble as it is?”

It could be her imagination... but is his tone almost amused? Like they’re both supposed to share a good laugh about how absurd these Puritans are? But Anna doesn’t feel much like laughing with him. She feels more like kicking him where it really hurts guys. 

“Do you honestly think I’m going to take any advice from you?” She hisses, not bothering to lower her voice, “I know you had something to do with Mrs. Nurse’s bogus verdict. And I know you’re working with someone shady-”

“Shut your mouth,  _ witch,”  _ he cuts her off sharply, “Or I’ll have ye gagged until we get to the courthouse.”

Anna opens her mouth to fire back something equally rude but closes it again. Something dangerous is flashing in his eyes so she keeps her mouth shut. Reverend Parris climbs into the front of a horse-drawn cart next to the driver while the two other men open the back of the cart and climb inside. Despite his eyes and harsh tone, the guy is gentle when he grabs Anna’s elbow and helps her inside before following. She doesn’t bother thanking him. 

The drive to the courthouse is silent and tense. People on the road stare at the cart as it rumbles past. More than a few people look at Anna and clench their fists with their thumbs between their first two fingers. Anna drops her eyes and looks down at her shoes. She tries to ignore them. Not let it bother her. They are all just ignorant 17 th century Puritans, scared of their own shadows. 

But even knowing that... it hurt.

Something catches the corner of her eye and she looks up to see the weird clerk guy watching her. She turns away, not even giving him the satisfaction of a response. 

The scene at the courthouse is a lot like the scene at Mrs. Nurse’s trial. Anna is brought through a side door and led to a dock, front and center. The rest of the courthouse is packed with townsfolk. Their talk is a dull rumble all around her. Anna stands at her dock, trying to stay brave and look braver. Ann, Abagail, and Betty are sitting in a separation section to her left. They look uncomfortable and uneasy, but Anna has trouble believing that they’ll end up doing the right thing. 

“The court of Salem, Massachusetts is now called to order!” The weird clerk guy yells, “The accused; the stranger Anna.”

There is a low buzz around the room. Anna catches the words “witch” and “never trusted her” and even “dusky skin”. As an insult. 

“Order! Order in the court!” the judge bangs his gavel and glances at his notes, “Now, who  accuseth the stranger Anna of witchcraft?”

“I do,” Elizabeth is the first to speak. 

Heads turn toward her and quickly look away, whispering to themselves. Anna looks over and wishes she hadn’t. Elizabeth sits a few rows behind the rest of the girls next to Tituba. But it takes Anna a second to recognize her. The arrogant, self-important, mean teenager now looks scared and sits submissively next to Tituba. Her eyes are ringed with black like she hasn’t slept in weeks. Her lower lip is swollen and bloody. And her arm is in a rough canvas sling. Elizabeth’s eyes meet Anna’s and quickly look away again. Tituba sends Anna a warm smile and wraps an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders. And not in a comforting way. 

“And what proof dost thou have?” the judge asks next. 

There’s a subtle movement from Tituba and Elizabeth slowly stands up. 

“Thou hast  seen  what the stranger hast done to me, ” she starts in a quavering voice,  “Before you  all, the stranger Anna used her dark  magic to contort and twist my body. She was most merciless and cruel.” 

“That’s so not true!”  Anna bursts out, “ Tituba did that. Not me!”

“Liar!” Elizabeth screams in a sudden burst of anger, “Thine interference in our lives is what caused this! If thou hadn’t come to our town-” 

There’s an abundance of whispered agreements from the townspeople around her, but what Anna hears is Tituba’s hushed warning hiss. Elizabeth immediately drops her hate-filled gaze. 

“I bear witness to encounter!” A woman yelled in the crowd.

“I too!”

“I saw it with mine own eyes!”

“It’s not what you think!” Anna searches for a least one sympathetic face in the crowd and gets nothing. Desperately, she looks at the other girls, “Ann, Abagail, Betty! Tell them! Tell them the truth!”

“I too bear witness!” Ann chokes out even as tears well in her eyes, “The stranger is a thief who steals from thine brother!” 

“I’m not a thief!” Anna yells stunned, “What siblings don’t borrow things from each other without asking?”

“I bear witness!” Abagail cries, closing her eyes, “The stranger Anna sought us out as if she already knew us.”

“I- I heard you guys talking in the square,” Anna quickly explains. This isn’t going well for her and she’s more than a little tempted to just cut and run. But the worst blow comes next. 

“I bear witness,” Betty’s voice is small and shaky, but she continues, “I...I... the stranger uses magic like green fire from her tome.” 

She bursts into tears and the courtroom erupts in another round of loud whispers. Anna can only stare helplessly at the Salem girls. The girls who she came all this way to befriend and help have completely  turned on her. 

Suddenly, Ann screams and points at something above their heads, “It’s one of them! Her familiars!”

Everyone, including Anna, cranes their heads but there’s nothing there. But Ann keeps screaming and pointing, her eyes following something that isn’t there. When she notices that no one else sees it, she looks around even more wild-eyed.

“Do ye not see it?” She shrieks, “A bird of flaming green fire flies about the room by ye very heads. Do ye not see it!”

“I see it!” Elizabeth screams too,  “‘ Tis the stranger’s bird doing her ill bidding!”

Betty starts openly sobbing. Abagail bats the air around her, screaming at the invisible, nonexistent bird to go away. Anna shakes her head in disbelief, but their hysteria seems to catch and spread. 

“I-I think I see it!” A woman screams, “A bird made out of green fire. Just like they said!”

“Watch out for its feathers!” A man yells, “If one sheds, it could catch thy clothes aflame!”

“Order! Order in the court!” 

The judge bangs his gavel but the noise steadily increases. More and more people start standing up and yelling about a bird that isn’t even there. 

“Stop it!” Anna yells finally losing it. She looks directly at the girls, “Stop it! Stop lying!”

“Stop it!” they echo, eerily in sync, “Stop lying!”

“No, stop!” Anna screams feeling hot, angry tears sting her eyes, “Stop it! Can’t you see what you’re doing!?”

“No, stop! Stop it! Can’t you see what you’re doing!?”

Someone screams, “The stranger has possessed them!”

The next instant something small and hard hits Anna between the shoulders. She cries out more in surprise than pain and when she looks out to see what hit her, she spots a knobbed corn cob on the floor. She picks it up in disbelief.

“Hey! Did someone just- hey!”

She’s cut off by another blow, this time a dirt clod to the cheek. A torrent of trash, stale bread, and even the occasional icy piece of snow hail all around her. The judge bangs his gavel again and again but the onslaught continues. Anna can only cringe, covering her head the best she can with her arm, not trusting herself or the crowd for that matter to find her way out of the courtroom. That is until a bigger, stronger arm wraps around her shoulders and starts leading her away. Glad to have any way out, Anna keeps her head down and puts up no  resistance . 

“Order! There shall be order in this court!” 

The roar of the judge and the crowd dim as Anna is taken into a back room. Knees shaking, she quickly sits down on the one chair. 

“Thanks, I...” She trails off when she looks up and realizes it was the person who helped her was the weird clerk guy. 

He keeps his head down and avoids eye contact, but she can see that his shoulders are spotted with thrown dirt clods. He quickly leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Alone, Anna quickly looks around in case The Book happened to be in here, but the room is bare except for the chair she’s sitting in and a table. There isn’t even a window to escape out of. 

It isn’t long though before the weird clerk guy comes back and just stands there. Staring ahead of him with a bored expression on his face. Anna waits for him to say something until she gets impatient at his  stony silence. 

“What?” She sighs in angry exasperation, “What do you want?”

He flicks his eyes toward her before looking away again, “The court has been cleared while they decide the verdict.”

“Does it even matter what they decide? You’ll just change the verdict anyway.”

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t look at her. Anna’s leg starts bouncing restlessly, but she doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her pace. But she can’t hold back her frustration for long. 

“Where is my book? I know you stole it,” She grumbles. 

The guy blinks but says nothing, gives away nothing. She runs an eye over him to see if maybe he had it on him, but it doesn’t like he has any room in his Puritan clothes to hide it. But then she thinks about something else he said. The court was cleared out, meaning that it is just the two of them in this room and a couple of old men in the other room. What if... she managed to take him out and escape? She could outrun a couple of old men. She could hide out in the woods, break into the Reverend’s house and steal her book back, and use it to save herself and Rebecca Nurse. 

It was a risk, but worth it. 

Anna stands up, pretending to stretch her legs. The weird clerk guy doesn’t look up. Anna moves slowly, placing her hand on the back of the chair. She’s too far away to just swing and hit him, but maybe throwing it him will be enough to distract him so she can run. He still hasn’t looked at her. So, with her heart threatening to beat out of her chest, Anna grips the chair with both hands and throws it with all her might. The chair flies through the air directly at the weird clerk guy. 

The guy’s eyes flick up. A shadow  flashes out. The chair shatters midair. Anna falls back and a cry of surprise almost makes its way out of her throat but it’s cut off by a weird pressure across her mouth. She grabs at it, but her fingers  slip on almost nothing. Almost nothing. 

The weird clerk guy watches her struggle silently, his eyes tinted orange behind the muddy brown. He lifts a finger to his lips and glances toward the door. Anna gradually settles down but glares at him through a film of angry, frustrated mist. She takes every several deep breathes through her nose and nods her understanding. The weird guy lowers his finger and the pressure over her mouth disappears. 

“Jerk,” she spits out. 

He doesn’t respond. He glances at the pieces of the broken chair. Whisps of shadows flit around the pieces of wood. They levitate back together, with black smokey cracks holding the chair together. 

“Sit,” He orders. 

“Make me,” she shoots back, stubborn to the end. 

He doesn’t ask again. Anna sits on the cold, hard floor and waits. She doesn’t want him to know how scared she is. In all her years of warping, studying magic with Uncle Joe or getting tips from Jodie, she had never seen anything like that. He hadn’t moved, but the chair was reduced to rubble. She always knew that there was something about him. That he has some sort of magic. He appears and disappears with shadows. Can put her to sleep with some sort of dust. Used a magic flower to give her visions. And he’s working with Tituba and Giles to cause all of this. Anna wishes Joe was here. 

A knock on the door makes her jump. The weird clerk guy opens the door and cranes his head around. 

“We are ready.”

The weird clerk guy nods and inclines his head for Anna to follow him. She doesn’t want to, but what choice does she have? When she stands back at her docket though, he lingers beside her. It is not a welcome presence. The judge, the magistrate, and the reverend sit in their seats. They look at her with mistrust and suspicion. The rest of the townspeople file in. They’re still murmuring and whispering. Anna catches the word witch more than once.

“Order. Order in the court,” the judge bangs his gavel, “We are prepared to pass our judgment.”

The crowd falls into a hush as the reverend nods at the magistrate who nods at the judge. The judge nods back at looks at Anna with cold, hard eyes. 

“The court declares the stranger Anna- GUILTY OF WITCHCRAFT!”

* * *

It’s almost  like an out-of-body experience. Anna is taken from the court, back to the prison. She sits on her moldy cot and waits. She breathes. Deep cleansing, studying breathes that Uncle Joe taught her will help focus her magic. Magic she desperately needs now. Mrs. Nurse tries to comfort her, tell her about Heaven and peace. But Anna isn’t quite ready for that yet. She doesn’t want to give up. She never gives up. She just needs something to tilt the odds in her favor. Anything. 

Hours pass. The reverend had come and gone with words of peace and encouragement for Rebecca Nurse. And a sermonizing lecture about repentance for her. Mrs. Nurse’s family stops by to pray with her and cry with her and say goodbye. They stop by to offer  condolences for her too. 

Around sunset though, Anna gets more interesting  visitors . 

The door opens slowly, hesitantly, and Betty pokes her head through. Anna stops mediating, hope rising in her chest. Betty sees her, gives a shaky, uncertain smile, and opens the door wider. Ann and Abagail sheepishly follow Betty inside. 

“Betty, Ann, Abagail,” Anna jumps off her cot and runs to the bars. Grateful tears well up in her eyes, “I knew it. I knew you guys were good. I knew you wouldn’t let Tituba do this.”

“Anna, oh Anna forgive us,” Betty gleefully clasps Anna’s hands through the bars, “We are so sorry that thy had to suffer through the trial. But ‘tis all over now.”

“Trust me, I’ll feel a lot better when I get out of this cell,” Anna agrees, “And then we can talk to the judge together and get Mrs. Nurse out too.”

“But Anna,” Ann’s smile falls a little, “The offer is only for you.”

“Offer?” Anna looks at them in confusion, “what are you talking about?”

They all look at each other and it’s Abagail who explains, “Anna, we talked to Tituba and you can still be one of us. And then everything will be okay.”

“What? No! No, you guys,” Anna feels a mix of frustration, confusion, and anger, “Tituba is evil. Pure evil and we have to stay away from her. I know she’s scary, and I know she’s powerful, but if we all stick  together, we can stand up to her!”

And they could do it too. Anna knows they can. But all Ann, Abagail, and Betty do is look at her. Tears well up in Betty’s eyes and she pulls her hand out of Anna’s. 

“We can’t,” she whispers, “We signed her book.”

“She’s giving us power,” Ann adds, the smile returning to her face, “More power than we could ever dream.” 

“All of our dreams will come true. And yours will too,” Abagail says, “Truly Anna, and we want you to join us. Just sign her book and we’ll be friends forever and forever.”

A  cold lump settles in Anna’s stomach as she backs away from them, “No. I’m never joining. I’m not going to let Tituba or anyone own me.”

She feels the tears coming then, so she climbs back onto her cot and turns toward the wall. After a minute she hears them leave. She rolls onto her back and looks up at the lone window. A feather  drifts in from outside. Anna draws in a sharp breath as she watches its slow descent. It brushes once again the wall close to her and vanishes on contact. And where it touched the wall, eight words are now carved. 

_ Not even the little one will be spared.  _

Anna turns her face into the bed and screams until her throat is raw.

* * *

She doesn’t remember falling asleep, but when she wakes up it’s dark inside and out. Anna shivers and tries to go back to sleep but suddenly, she feels like she’s not alone. She sits up and sees the weird clerk guy standing outside of her cell. 

“You,” Anna glares at him, “What do you want? Leave me alone.”

He levels her with a look, “I’ve come to tell you that you’ve been sentenced to death for the crime of witchcraft. Your execution is scheduled for dawn.”

Anna’s stomach does a slow roll and her blood runs cold. But she swallows down the lump in her throat and doesn’t let her heated glare waver. 

“So, are you here to gloat? Or try to scare me into joining you and Tituba?”

“No,” the weird clerk guy steps closer to her cell and his expression softens until he almost looks nervous, “I’m going to try to save you.”

Anna draws in a sharp breath, not sure if she can even dare to believe what he just said. But the way the guy keeps glancing over his shoulder makes it seem as if he’s almost as scared as she is right now. Maybe even more. She wants to ask him a million questions. Who is he really? Why is he saving her? Is this just a trap? But it’s already late and she doesn’t know how soon the dawn is. So, she only asks the question that matters. 

“Rebecca Nurse’s family,” she whispers, “If she does die, will they be safe? Can’t we save all of them too?”

The weird clerk guy shakes his head firmly, “Historical records already show that Rebecca Nurse is a victim of the Salem Witch trials. If we try to change that, time agents will all over this period and correct it anyway. If not them, very bad people will. She has to die. Her family will be safe though. Generations of them thrive. That’s also guaranteed.”

A tear slips out of Anna’s eye before she can stop it and she quickly  brushes it away. She glances over at Mrs. Nurse’s sleeping figure. She knows she’s going to die, but she said she was content as long as her family was safe. But Anna swears she’ll never forget her.

“Okay,” Anna whispers, turning back to the weird clerk guy, “What’s the plan?”

He leans forward and fixes her with a serious look, “How long can you hold your breath?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, but I've been doing some prewriting for future stories and been busy with some more personal projects. I hope you still enjoyed this chapter though and don't be shy to leave me a review if you like. :)


	7. Chapter 7

_ Everything smells like chlorine. The summer heat beats down and the strong sun reflects off the surface of the water. Kids laugh and scream, adults talk and yell above the noise. Sound muffles and unmuffles itself as water gently laps at Anna’s ears. Joe’s smile is earnest and excited and missing one tooth. Anna grins back feeling excited and scared and exhilarated all at the same time. She has a death grip on Joe’s arms but for once he isn’t shoving her off. Probably because he knows just like she knows that he’s the only thing keeping her afloat. She’s only five or six and doesn’t have her floaties on.  _

_ “Joe!” their mom’s voice rings out above the noise, “Be careful with her. Anna isn’t a strong swimmer yet.” _

_ “They’ll be fine, Jane,” their dad laughs, “You know Joe will look out for his baby sister.” _

_ Anna doesn’t even correct her dad that she isn’t a baby anymore. She’s too excited to care. Too focused on her big brother’s instructions.  _

_ “Okay Anna,” Joe says, “We’re going to try this again. Just let your body relax and don’t breathe. Not even through your nose. Last one to come up wins.” _

_ “You won’t let go right?” Anna asks, feeling a momentary twinge of panic. She doesn’t know how to float by herself and already she can feel her body wanting to sink.  _

_ “I won’t let go,” Joe promises, squeezing her elbows, “Ready? One, two, three!” _

_ He goes under and she goes under. All sound and sight disappear. Water closes over her head. Panic crashes into her but then she feels Joe’s grip on her tighten and the panic subsides. It isn’t until her feet touch the bottom that she realizes her eyes are closed. Without thinking Anna opens them. The chlorine stings and she’s tempted to close them again. But the moment her vision clears she forgets about the pain. It’s like being in another world. Shapes are wavy and distorted. Colors are opaque. All she sees are limbs, bubbles, dappling light, and dancing shadows. Joe’s face is a blur, his eyes squeezed shut and his cheeks bulging.  _

_ But the most extraordinary sensation of all is the utter weightlessness. There isn’t a current, they’re in a public pool, but the water gently tugs and pulls at her body. She sways with it, her only anchor being her big brother. But she can’t help but wonder... _

_ Experimentally, she loosens her grip. The water rocks her body gently. She loosens her grip more. Joe shifts and tightens his grip until it’s painful. Impatiently, Anna pulls herself from Joe completely. He starts grabbing at nothing, his arms start waving. Anna watches the bubbles his movements make. She’s being rocked gently back and forth. She feels like a cloud bobbing in the lazy summer sky. Bubbles jet from Joe’s mouth as he suddenly rockets upwards. Anna watches him calmly. Her chest starts to ache, but she can’t get enough of this strange world. There are more bubbles and her father’s legs come into view. The ache becomes uncomfortable so Anna pushes off the pool bottom and gently ascends back into the real world.  _

_ “Joseph Arthur you’re supposed to be the responsible one.” _

_ “It’s not my fault! She’s the one who let go!” _

_ Anna gasps and sputters much-needed air and finds herself in her father’s arms.  _

_ “Hey,” He laughs, sounding calmer than mom or Joe, “Where’d you go princess? We missed you.” _

_ “I did it! I did it!” Anna is breathlessly happy, “I stayed underwater longer than Joe!” _

_ “Only because I was scared you drowned!” Joe shoots angrily.  _

_ “Anna Arthur, you had us all worried sick,” Her mother chides more gently, “You’re too young to just go underwater like that.” _

_ But her dad winks, "I wasn’t worried. Anna-B _ _ anana _ _ is a lot tougher than she looks.”  _

* * *

Anna had all but forgotten that trip to the pool years ago. She can see the small square of the sky outside of her window getting lighter. She doesn’t know how long she slept if at all. She’s cold, miserable, and afraid. She doesn’t want to trust the weird clerk guy, but she’s run out of all other options. 

The door to the prison opens and she hears them come in. Reverend Parris, the judge, the magistrate, and the weird clerk guy. Anna doesn’t bother getting up though until they open her cell. She takes one last look at the peacefully sleeping Rebecca Nurse and then lets the men lead her outside to a waiting horse-drawn cart. As she’s loaded in, she risks a glance at the weird clerk guy, but he’s carefully avoiding eye contact with her. She can’t say she’s surprised. Even though his cover has all but been blown by this point, he still won’t tell her his real name. What they’re about to do is risky, and according to him could get them both killed, so it makes sense not to give their new, tenuous alliance away. But still, some reassuring eye contact would have been  comforting . 

This time, the weird clerk guy drives the cart, and Anna is left in the back with her own thoughts. As the dreary landscape rumbles by, Anna goes over the plan one more time. 

_“They’re terrified of you,”_ He told her in hushed tones last night _, “After your very public and very brutal fight with Elizabeth in the square, I’m not surprised. That’s why your_ _execution_ _has been pushed up so soon.”_

_ “Gee I wish I could take credit for that but it was all Tituba,” Anna grumbles sarcastically.  _

_ The weird clerk guy’s brow furrows in impatience, “They want you burned, Anna. Tied to a stake and burned alive with your evil magic book of green fire.” _

_ Anna immediately catches the accusatory tone and almost yells at him, “Are you blaming me for this? Because I didn’t take your stupid warning to leave?” _

_ “Not everyone gets that warning.” _

_ A chill runs down Anna’s spine at his dark tone and direct gaze. Anna’s more than a little glad that there are bars separating them, but something tells her that they wouldn’t be much of an obstacle for him.  _

_ “You aren’t going to burn,” He continues in a softer tone, “You’re going to drown.” _

Anna’s heart leaps when the cart gives a particularly hard jolt over a rough patch of ground. She takes a shuddering breath and eases into slow, subtle deep breathing. Which she’s going to need if she plans on living through the weird clerk guy’s so-called plan. 

He wasn’t kidding about her drowning. The plan was this: the weird clerk guy convinced Parris, the judge, and the magistrate that burning Anna would be a bad idea. Since her magic was green fire, the only way to counter it would be water. A river of water as a matter of fact. 

The sound of it gets louder as her cart draws closer. A low dull roar, almost a vibration in her ears. The cart slowly comes to a stop as the trees thin out. The ground is mostly bare, spotted here and there with melting piles of snow. A wide river steadily flows through the barren landscape. Near its edge, on a small rise of land, is a device that makes Anna’s heart start thudding in her chest. A tall wooden pole stands on a wheeled platform. Another wooden pole is bolted across the top so that it acts as a fulcrum. On either side of the balancing pole are ropes; one dangles by itself, the other is connected to a chair. A cucking stool. 

Anna swallows thickly. She’s seen them before in historical drawings and movies and always thought they looked kind of silly. But seeing one now, sitting by the cold icy river, and knowing what it is for- she doesn’t feel like laughing now. The weird clerk guy warned her about it, and also warned her that it had been recently modified for this occasion. Usually, the person on the punishing end would sit in the chair, dangling over a body of water. The punishers would use the untethered rope to dunk the person in and out of the body of water until they confessed their crimes or were thoroughly wet and humiliated and half-drowned. Except, in this case, they weren’t planning on half-drowning her. The top pole is longer on one end in order to place the chair over the middle of the river, instead of at the edge. And the two ropes are actually just one really long rope. Pulling on one side will raise the chair on the other side. Letting go will drop the chair entirely. 

Anna is prepared for all of this though. In private, the weird clerk guy convinced Reverend Parris and the magistrate that since Anna’s magic was fire-based, she and The Book should be completely submerged in water instead of burned. A natural element  counter . The reverend and magistrate agreed, probably thinking that dunking them both will be like using water to put out an out-of-control fire. Which is what the weird clerk guy wants them to think. Instead, the river will be her means of escape. 

_ “The cold is going to shock you and make you want to draw in a breath. Don’t,”  _ the weird guy explained to her with serious eyes, “ _ Keep calm and pull yourself out of the ropes. They will be loose enough for you to wiggle free. The Book will be tied with the same rope. Once you get your hands free, open it, and go the hell home.” _

_ “Wait! While I’m still underwater?” Anna stares at him in disbelief.  _

_ “While you’re still underwater,” He nods, “It’s the only cover you have.  _ _ Otherwise, _ _ your situation becomes worse. The Puritans aren't the only ones who want you dead.” _

He prepared her for all of it. Made her repeat the plan back to him. When she couldn’t sleep, Anna practiced deep breathing and holding her breath. She was able to hold it for forty-five seconds. But one thing he hadn’t prepared her for, is the crowd of onlookers also here. 

_ “Do you-” Anna  _ _ clears _ _ her throat which has suddenly gone dry, “Do you think we’ll be able to pull it off? What if someone notices what’s going on?” _

_ The weird clerk guy looks away for a moment as if considering it. He shrugs, not exactly a comforting gesture. “I’m only really expecting the reverend, the magistrate, and the judge to be there. It’s a long trek to the river and the execution of a little girl is hard to watch for anyone. Especially a slow drowning. I doubt anyone will watch it closely.” _

But there are more than just the magistrate, reverend, and judge here. Half the town seems to have shown up and is waiting at the sidelines for Anna’s execution. She spots Ann, Abagail, Elizabeth, and even Betty in the crowd. Tears are in most of their eyes, and Betty looks pale, but none of them are exactly holding up protest signs on her behalf. 

The cart comes to a jolting stop and Anna is forced out. She tries to make eye contact with the weird clerk guy to see if this unexpected crowd affects the plan. But as he studiously avoids looking at her, a pit of unease settles into her stomach. 

“People of Salem,” Reverend Parris addresses the crowd, “Ye are gathered here today to witness the execution of the stranger Anna for her crimes of committing witchcraft. The most heinous act in the eyes of God. Today, her evil green fires shall be forever extinguished by water.”

The crowd roars their approval as the weird clerk guy leads Anna into the chair and forces her to sit as he ties her legs to it. Her chest hurts with how hard her heart is beating but she keeps doing her subtle deep breathing. She puts her hands behind her back as he moves upwards and starts tying them together. And just like he told her to do, she slowly moves her hands apart so that she’ll have enough room to slip free.

_ “The rope is one piece threaded in and out of the chair,”  _ he explained,  _ “The wrap around at your wrist is the pivotal one. Once that comes undone, the whole thing will fall apart.” _

But then, just as she thinks he’s finished, the weird clerk guy suddenly clenches her wrists together with one hand and pulls the rope tight with the other.

“Ow! Hey!” Anna yells as the ropes bite into her wrists, “What are you doing!?”

The weird clerk guy ignores her completely and Anna forgets to do her deep breathing as she struggles against the rope. She can’t move them at all. The pit in her stomach is now a boulder. Sweat breaks out on Anna’s forehead as she realizes the terrible mistake she made. What this his plan all along!? To lure her into a false sense of security so she wouldn’t fight her execution or try to escape!?

“This too will be vanquished with the witch! The witch’s evil tome!” Reverend Parris brandishes The Book in the air before handing it to the weird clerk guy too. 

Anna starts struggling in earnest now. If she can just break free for a second, with one hand even, she could grab The Book and warp to safety, even in front of everyone. The weird clerk guy still doesn’t look at her, even as he ties The Book around her lap. 

“I trusted you,” Anna hisses at him, “I should have kicked you in the balls when I had the chance.”

Finally, the weird clerk guy’s eyes flicker up to hers. And he smirks. 

“You son of a-”

“Stranger Anna,” the reverend interrupts her and the weird clerk guy moves aside for him. Reverend Parris stares at her with eyes of ice, “Have ye any last words to say for thy self before we send you back to hell where you belong? Or if thy shall beg God for forgiveness now and repent of thine evil deeds, He might yet make a place in heaven for ye.”

Anna looks him in the eyes, “I’m not the one killing innocent people. Doesn’t the Bible say ‘Thou shalt not kill’?”

Reverend Parris flushes red and for a moment Anna thinks he might try to slap her again. But he only steps back and gestures to the crowd. “Raise the stool.”

A few men come forward. They pull on the rope and Anna begins to rise. She starts struggling again but the ropes hold firm. She just needs one hand though. Or for The Book to self-trigger. Higher and higher she’s lifted and her stomach churns from the feelings of the ground falling away from her. 

“Position the stool.”

The pole shifts until Anna is above the river and still rising higher. She looks around wildly and that’s when she spots her. A little away from the crowd, closer to the trees, stands Tituba. Watching her with that insufferable triumphant smile. And then something inside Anna's head clicks. By chance or instinct, she looks down at herself. Or more specifically the chair. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary chair. But then she looks closer and sees cracks in the wood. Cracks that are black and almost seem to shift. The chair that _he_ shattered and put back together with _his_ shadowy magic. Tituba’s presence had apparently changed the plan after all. Anna cranes her head over her shoulder and spots the weird clerk guy. He isn’t looking at her, but his hand is low by his side, five fingers spread out. He slowly brings his thumb in. Then his pointer finger. Middle. Ring. Anna faces forward again, closes her eyes, and takes a deep, deep, breath. 

_ “The cold is going to shock you, and make you want to draw in a breath.” _

The cold is like a train slamming into her. Anna wants to do more than draw a breath, she wants to scream. The water roars all around her. She’s tossed head over heels as her body is bruised, beaten, and battered by the force of the river. She forces her eyes open and sees nothing but torrents. She’s disoriented, lost, and her lungs burn. But then something gives. The water around her turns dark and cloudy and suddenly she’s free. The chair all but crumbles as the shadows holding it together dissipate. The rope has nothing to hold on to. Her arms and legs are free. But the river is rushing by too fast. Anna can’t seem to get control of her limbs which are quickly going numb. She can’t hold her breath in any longer and it escapes from her in a jet of bubbles. Anna chokes and her chest convulses. Her arms spasm wildly and it’s all she can do to clutch her hands at anything, anything at all! Something hard hits her palm and she clutches it as hard as she can. It’s  The Book. She knows it is even as her vision goes dark around the edges. But it’s too late. Anna is... dying. 

She can’t give up though, Not yet. Her mother’s face flashes before her eyes. Her father’s. Joe’s. 

_"I wasn't worried," Her father winks. A secret pact between father and daughter against the world. He's like her. He understands her need for adventure. Her dislike for the ordinary. "Anna-Banana is a lot tougher than she looks."_

Even though she can’t feel anything anymore. Even though her legs stop moving. Even though she can’t feel her arms. Anna flexes her hand, moves her stiff fingers, and opens The Book. 

* * *

A swirling green vortex opens and pours its contents out over the bed. Anna hits her bed hard and bounces roughly onto her hardwood floor with a reviving gasp. She coughs and vomits water as her  lungs spasm from the sudden intake of air. She lays on the ground shaking and completely disoriented. Her head is pounding and she can see the red pulse behind her eyes. Slowly, she stands up on knees that threaten to give out on her and has to cling to her bed for support. Did  she do it? Is she actually... alive?

A sudden knock on the door scares her so badly that she jumps onto her bed. 

“Anna?” Her brother’s voice calls, “Anna is everything alright?”

_ No!  _ Anna wants to scream. She bites her lip hard to hold back the urge to throw the door open, run into her big brother’s arms, and tell him everything. But she can’t. Not just yet. 

“I’m okay!” She manages to croak out, “I’m- I’m good!”

There’s a beat of silence, and Anna wonders if (almost hopes that) Joe will open her door anyway. But he doesn’t. 

Anna listens as her brother’s footsteps fade away before her throat tightens and a hacking, wet cough racks her body. She chokes and coughs and spits up more river water as she struggles to get off her soaking wet bed. She stares hard at The Book, somehow dry despite being underwater, and tries hard not to think about how close she came to almost drowning. Or anything else that just happened.  She quickly grabs The Book and shoves it into the top drawer of her dresser. She can't even look at it right now. 

A lump rises in her throat but she swallows it down again. She’s not some weak little girl. She’s stronger than this. She isn’t going to cry. She isn’t going to cry. She isn’t-

But in the end, it’s all just too much for her, and Anna breaks down in tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you at the epilogue ;)


End file.
